Resurrection
by Clone Daniel
Summary: Set just after Season 5. Terra wants to save the world from herself, but Beast Boy won't let her. Beast Boy just wants to help her, but she won't let him close enough. Why is a stange new being roaming the skies and why does this being stay so distant?
1. Just Say Goodbye

_Author Notes__: I__ hope you all enjoy this second story of mine. This story will be running alongside two others I'm currently writing, so updates might be a little slow._

_I still accept reviews from both users and anonymous visitors, so please review._

_Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Just Say Goodbye**

UFO's.

They seemed a slightly more common occurrence since the incident with The Source and Nufu. Most, of course, were simply paranoid or afraid people, illusions, or just a shooting star or some sort of _man-made_ creation. This however, was of much more interest.

Last night, a light blue fireball streaked across the sky, very high up, just below the clouds. Experts had immediately dismissed it as a meteor falling to Earth, but eyewitnesses described it as being in a controlled flight. First it flew north, then swung left and flew west; and then it decided to turn towards the desert that resided near Jump City. Finally, it decided to fall to earth, after flying around the sky for near enough fifteen minutes. It had been described as a light blue, with a duller version of the colour surrounding the outside like an aura, leaving a long con-trail wherever it flew at a fairly fast speed of about sixty miles an hour, and about human in size, which made it tiny in the sky. Had the fireball decided to stop its flight and hover, the glaring light blue that covered the inner area could well have dissipated to reveal an alien… but that was the theory of the usual alien-mad geeks.

There was just one problem, when the police and other usual authorities had checked the desert; it was empty of any kind of damage. No landing site, no crater to indicate a crash, no nothing. Just the usual, dusty desert.

Robin was knelt on one knee, right hand skimming the ground. He brought his fingertips to his face, and rubbed his finger and thumb together, grinding up the dust particles into even finer ones. No disturbance.

Cyborg was walking around the area with Starfire following behind. He was using his scanners to search the area, keeping his right arm folded at his chest to keep an eye on any anomalies. Starfire was also checking the area, eyes flicking every which way possible for any movement. Of everyone in the city, she had been the most excited by far at the prospect of an alien landing. After all, another alien besides her… Perhaps even a Tamaranian friend?

On the opposite side of the desert, Raven was flying over the area, always looking for anything suspicious; but as with the others, she was finding nothing. Beast Boy was supposed to be flying with her, but he was walking below her instead, and not in a very enthusiastic way. He was moping, kicking a stone forward every now and then, not even bothering to check anything. Whatever his problem was, Raven could tell this was one Beast Boy did not want to talk about, so she kept scanning.

Two hours of searching had turned up nothing but some dusty Titans.

"We'll call it a day guys." Robin told them, dusting off his shoulder. "There doesn't seem to be anything out here."

"Oh but we must continue searching." Starfire exclaimed. "If we do not, our alien visitor will find himself confused and scared by Earth, much like I was."

"So the alien can kiss you and everything will be better." Raven quipped, remembering how Starfire had shared that kiss with Robin. She noticed Robin freeze as if in a heart attack, and Starfire turn pink on her face.

"Now Rae," Cyborg began, patting her left shoulder, "don't be bringing that up in front of the love-birds."

"We aren't love-birds Cyborg!" Robin yelled.

The boy wonder stormed past the collected team and began stomping to the tower. They all turned about and followed Robin, Starfire being closest behind with a sad look on her face.

"She's just my friend who is a girl."

Starfire immediately brightened up like a rising sun from Robin silent remark. He's only made it loud enough for Starfire to hear, and he didn't look back, but he knew only Starfire had heard it.

"Hold up! Where's BB?" Cyborg's head flung left and right in a frantic search for the green one.

"He wanted to be alone." Raven commented monotonously.

* * *

Alone… 

That's what he wanted to be…

It's what he didn't want to be…

… Did she want it to?

He kept walking how he had been during the search for the mythical UFO. He couldn't care about it, so he considered it a myth. All he could think about was the blond schoolgirl, and what she'd said to him just yesterday.

'_Things change Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory…_'

That was yesterday.

Beast Boy, a lonely soul wandering the desert where he'd first seen that blond angel, turned devil, turned redeemed statue, turned anonymous schoolgirl. This was the desert where he'd first seen her, walking in a valley, walled in on both sides by ten-foot high rocky cliffs. This was just a small passage to another part of the desert, barely thirty-foot long, but it was good to avoid the dust… and he was out here supposedly searching for a UFO.

He kicked a small stone forward a few feet, and followed on with his apathetic walk.

Three times now he'd lost her. The first time had been when she wrongly thought that he'd revealed the secret that she couldn't control her powers.

She ran that time.

The second time had been to Slade when he turned her into his apprentice. She'd gone to him to help her control her powers.

She ran that time too.

This third time he'd lost her to fear… Fear of everything she'd done, everything about her past.

She was running this time too.

Another kick of the stone, and another small hike to follow it.

Terra didn't deserve such things! Yet wherever she went she seemed to attract something to hurt her. He wanted to shield her from all of that, but she wanted to keep running. He had to respect that decision, no matter how much he thought it the wrong decision or that he had to help her… but he wanted to so bad…

He'd never experienced feelings like this before. Nor for so long. This was love… had to be love… or was it an illusion? Why couldn't he just say goodbye to her? _Just say goodbye _he told himself as he kicked the small stone again, and continued following it, not paying any attention to how far along he was in this tiny valley.

Everything around him reminded him of the blond angel. Rocks, the ground he walked on, the tower, the pizza place where they had all fought over the last slice of pizza, everything. At this rate he'd become some sort of stalker... He chuckled half-heartedly at the thought, a stalker of Terra? No... that wouldn't work. With Terra's skills, the ones she attained from travelling the desert, she'd easily spot him.

He looked up into the sky, just before giving a final, hard kick to the stone that sent it soaring. The sky was fully with white clouds, and the sun was riding high at the midday summer height. The sun reminded him of Terra's hair. He could almost see her face in the sun; though that was probably his eyesight going haywire from staring at the yellow ball of gas in space. He yanked his sight downwards, clenching his eyes so tight the blood vessels seemed to dance in a magnificent display of colour. He then opened them slowly, letting his eyes re-adjust to normal midday summer lighting. He could only mutter a single word.

"Terra..."

* * *

The foursome, being without Beast Boy, were walking about to the tower. Starfire and Raven could fly if they wanted, but walks often did good. Built muscles Robin said. They were half way out when Starfire stopped in her tracks and turned her head ninety degrees to the right, staring into apparently empty space of dust, with rocky outcroppings all along the horizon, and what appeared to be a network of caves, about four in total. The other noticed and stopped, all of them going unnoticed, staring at Starfire with confusion in there eyes 

"Starfire, is something up?" Cyborg asked

"I believe I heard something."

Cyborg gave a quick scan with he sensors.

"Nothing." He told her. "Perhaps it was just a bug."

"Even if it is, I would still wish to check it out." She made her tone out as if she was asking Robin.

"Okay, but don't be too long." Robin conceded. "We'll see you back at the tower."

"Of course." Starfire nodded gently in recognition, then she hovered off the ground and flew towards the rocky outcroppings and caves with a silent grace. She never noticed the others continue there walk back to the tower.

She came to the entrance of one of the caves. She peered into the darkness, lighting it up with a green star bolt that she kept in her hand.

It was empty... No it wasn't!

It wasn't obvious, but there were many different leaves strew about the floor... Leaves in a desert were hardly common, especially gathered up in neat piles in a cave. Deeper inside the cave she noticed a stockpile of food; small yet adequate for a at least a week. She knew it was food from the look; because she didn't have a clue what the stuff was appearance. She did recognise the meat, covered in an overly generous amount of salt in order to preserve it, and four or five dozen balls of white... Rice maybe? Rice balls? Another quick scan revealed something else; a pair of swords, each gently curved, and one longer than the other, and tied together by a rope. Both rested in scabbards. The longer one measured around sixty-five centimetres, while the shorter one measure forty centimetres. The scabbards were wood painted black, with no distinguishing marks or features.

She heard footsteps. She sprang herself out of the cave and turned left, and pointed the arm with her star bolt in at the supposed attacker. When she saw whom it was that was walking towards her, her eyes widened in shock and amazement...

* * *

School was over. From the school doors a blond girl, winged by a black girl and a girl with red hair, both her height and age. She had sea blue eyes and clutched some books tight to her chest. She cradled them almost lovingly, as if they were a symbol of her new life. 

"Tara, you had any more trouble from that green Titan?" The black girl asked as they continued walking, turning out from the gates to walk down the street.

"None at all." Tara Markov. Formerly known as Terra. This was her true name; this was her in a normal life. "I told you I'd sort things out didn't I?"

"You sure did?" The red-headed girl answered smugly. "God knows what he thinks you even saw in him? I mean he's green like a ball of snot and-"

She didn't listen to what the rest of the girl had to say, because she brought up the idea of him being a snot ball. No matter how much she wanted to hate him and his friends for what had happened to her, she couldn't. It was all her own choice. She chose to betray them, then leave them for a normal life. How could it work between herself and Beast Boy anyway? Well, it probably could if they tried, but she didn't want anything to do with Beast Boy, the Titans, and most of all, her powers any more. Her powers had always brought grief to everyone around her, so she decided to cut them off completely, never use them again, and protect the world from herself. She did that when Beast Boy had invited back to the tower two or three nights ago. He'd thrown a mud ball at her, and she could've used her powers to stop it, and perhaps, sent it straight back to his face. She decided against it in that one split second that could've made all the difference. She'd let it slap her in the face. How would things be now if she'd used her powers?

A dream.

Everyone would be better of if she was just plain old Tara Markov. It didn't matter what she wanted, the past was a memory now...

Ah yes, memories... That's all she had of him now; memories. She'd told him 'goodbye' in the harshest way possible... with no emotion. Her own words still rang hollow in her ears. Terra was just a memory now, she was Tara Markov, and she didn't care for Beast Boy!

"Tara!"

"Hmm?"

"Don't you agree?" The black girl asked her.

"Oh... yeah... he's a snot ball." She said that apathetically, deep down not believing it. Her eyes fell to the floor, ashamed.

Terra and her two school chums parted ways. They went off down another street, and she continued down the same one, walking a street of shattered hopes. She hated this street because it reminded all the time of the past she was trying to escape. On this street was the pizza place where herself and the Titans had always gone for a good pizza. She couldn't help but glance at it every time, and her god forsaken mind always managed to conjure up an outside view of herself and Beast Boy sharing a pizza together.

Just her and him…

A memory...

She walked faster, moving away quickly from the place that brought up all those good memories. She wanted to run away from everything. Running was always what she did best. She heard a humming overhead, and then she heard some screams, then a few more. She looked up as she slowed to a walk, and saw a fleet of about eleven typically sized blimps flying at a crawl about thirty feet above the rooftops, with the colours of the British flag holding in the gas. The engines were humming their ominous tune, and they were in an arrowhead formation. While everyone else screamed, she just shrugged and kept walking. And then came the voice of the leader, wearing a World War two British pilot's costume, standing in the cockpit of the front blimp.

"Hello my Duckies!" Mad Mod. Who could've guessed? "My little fleet now controls this airspace, so I suggest you all go home and prepare for my royal guards, because king Moddy is back in town."

Hmm. She was really going to do that. Terra just kept walking, an unnoticed speck to Mad Mod. It would be the usual story: the Titans turn up, bring down the blimps, and take Mod to jail; and with luck Beast Boy would notice... No, that wasn't what she wanted. If she didn't run, Beast Boy with his eagle sharp dark green eyes would notice her, but she just kept walking, apathetic to the situation. She could sort it out herself if she wanted to, but she'd told herself, _No powers ever again!_ She heard irregular footsteps, three pairs. One was of a teenage boy, muscled for his age, as he went past her. Robin. The second was that of a huge metallic person, and he rushed past. A girl in a blue cloak flew past after him, so silent she hadn't heard her. Raven. The final pair of feet was the one she dreaded. From another teenage boy who was fairly small from his diet of tofu meals, but strong nonetheless, and he went past. Beast Boy. Against her will, she glanced up to see him look back, slow his run a bit, then get straight back after his friends.

She looked into the sky and saw Starfire dive in, forming in behind Beast Boy. Same old story… She decided to stop and watch the battle that was about to ensue from here.

Meanwhile, while running to an appropriate position, leading the team, Robin asked Starfire a question.

"Find anything?"

"Nothing." She answered politely despite the obvious situation. "It was just a bug."

Robin stopped, and the Titans formed a circle around him.

"Okay Titans, here's the plan." Robin had it all formed up in his head. "Me and Cyborg will go the rooftops and distract Mod from there. Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, you guys burst the blimps. Everyone got that?" A simple plan, but definitely effective.

Each Titan nodded in turn, telling their leader without words that they knew the plan.

They heard a sound of strong gusting helium. Each Titan turned their gaze to the sky to see a deflating blimp at the bottom left corner of the formation, two large humanoid sized holes in either side of it. A second one of those sounds was heard, and there another blimp, this time at the bottom right of the formation, also deflating.

"Look!" Cyborg shouted, pointed to just past the second deflating blimp.

Right there was a human sized light blue fireball, working it ways through the formation of the blimps. The next two in the arrowhead formation began deflating, then the next two, then the next two, working its way all the way to the front blimp.

Mad Mod knew his blimps were deflating.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" He checked his equipment, but nothing he knew about was showing on radar. "God damn!"

He was suddenly sucked towards the door, but held on to his monitors until the de pressurisation of the cockpit quickly ended. He turned about to see what had managed to rip the door open. What he saw was both wonderful and scary, because it was coming for him. He didn't have much time to get the measure of the being. He just saw a humanoid, wreathing in a light blue aura that was like a burning fire, but was really just light.

"Oh... cods-wallop!"

The Titans saw Mad Mod begin falling from the sky. Starfire immediately flew upwards and caught him in her arms, bridal style. Mad Mod immediately grinned.

"Well thank you kindly me lady." He said in his stereotyped English accent. "Perhaps you'd care to let me go free then?"

"Perhaps you would care to be puréed on the ground?" Starfire told him in an unusually malicious way, with her voice still retaining some meagre presence of innocence.

"No no... I'll make do."

Starfire hovered back down to Earth, touched her feet on the ground and dropped Mad Mod by letting her arms move wide. Starfire and each of the Titans looked up to see the blue fireball leave the cockpit, and move about thirty feet away from the blimp before stopping in mid-air. A moment of inactivity, and then a bright blue beam blasted from the fireball in the sky, piercing straight through the blimps skin and igniting the Helium inside. The blimp went up in a real fireball of bright reds and oranges. The bright blue fireball suddenly blasted off at a blistering speed, so quick it was that it was out of sight in at least a minute. It would've disappeared earlier had it not been for the fireball's glow.

"We'd better get out of here before that Helium makes our voices squeaky." Cyborg advised.

Raven was the first to begin to leave. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire followed, with Mad Mod being dragged along by Starfire by his goggles. Beast Boy didn't leave however... In his head it was to check on the civilians. In his heart, it was to find Terra, and this was one of those many times when the heart rules the mind.

He ran the opposite way his friends were going. He didn't have to look far. As soon as he rounded the first corner, he saw a girl with long blond hair in a schoolgirl outfit.

"Terra!" He called.

She didn't appear to respond. He knew she'd heard him. He didn't bother calling again but ran after her. He managed to catch up with her very quickly. He went around her and stopped in front in her, facing her with a hard but concerned expression. She stopped in her tracks, not looking up from the ground beneath her feet. She didn't want to him in the face. She clutched her books tighter.

"Are you okay Terra?" Beast Boy asked her.

"I'm fine..." She told him slowly and calmly. "Excuse me." She made to walk around his left, but he stopped her with his hand, putting it onto her right shoulder. She glared at him harshly, and he glared back.

"This has got to stop Terra!"

"Why? Because you can't get over me?" She yelled at him, her resolve at seeming to be an amnesiac finally cracking. "You want the truth? Fine!" She pulled away from him, always keeping her books close to her chest. "I remember everything; okay? But I don't want my past! All I ever did was hurt people; including you, so everyone will be better off if I'm just a schoolgirl named Tara Markov! _Okay_?"

Beast Boy was left dumb-founded and utterly limp for words. He knew it! She did remember, but she'd just come out and said that, basically, he never wanted to see him again; and inadvertently thrown in her real name. In just stared at her, eyes glinting with contained tears. Terra, though her heart was suddenly wrenched left and right by the green changeling's near tearful face, took this opportunity to leave.

Keeping her face stern and strong, she shoved her way past beast Boy's hand and kept on walking. She let her head hang low again, and she kept on walking. Her eyes clenched shut unconsciously...

"Garfield Logan..." That was Beast Boy's voice. And... that was his real name.

Then she realised... she'd given him her real name, and she hadn't even realised it. She hung her head lower so that the front part of her hair hung over her face, shadowing it and protecting the pink blush from daylight.

Beast Boy just stayed still for a moment, not bothering to see that people were staring at him. The left arm he'd used to briefly stop Terra was slowly lowered. He stared off into the distance where he wanted Terra to be; before turning round enough so that his left shoulder was facing Terra. He kept his head turned just enough to see Terra walking away from him; she seemed to walk slowly, like everything was suddenly in slow-motion. He imagined autumn leaves falling around her. She was an angel to his eyes, and one he could never again be with.

She'd left it up to him to say... she could almost hear telling him; '..._Just say it Beast Boy. It's best... for both of us._' So he... couldn't say it. This would not be goodbye... he knew somewhere that it was over, but his heart told him to keep trying at a later date, and the heart often rules over the mind in these circumstances.

The walk away also symbolised something; her leaving her past behind, moving onto the future... She'd be alone, but everyone would be better off without her involved, especially the she cared for so much! She wanted him to say goodbye because she couldn't put it into words herself, but begged him in her head not to... She wanted to be with him, but this was for the best... She'd only cause more pain... She wanted this and she didn't...

All they would have are memories of each other. The times they shared, the feelings, the almost first kiss... all memories now...

* * *

Back at Titans tower, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven were all in the main room, standing in a diamond formation, and all facing each other. Beast Boy had returned about an hour ago, and had gone straight to his room. No jokes, no pranks, not a word. Just silence and a face that bore the look of a shredded heart. The four were discussing the fireball that had helped them, or rather stolen the spotlight, against Mad Mod. 

"So you're sure you found nothing?" Robin asked.

"Nothing." Starfire answered calmly. "I am sorry I cannot be of more help."

"So what do we do know?" Cyborg enquired to Robin. "Wait for Mr.Light-Show to turn up and then catch him?"

"That's really going to work..." Raven told him dryly. "Look, I don't know _what_ that thing is, but I could sense a mind from it. Whatever it is, it's alive, and it could be human."

"Or an alien..." Robin added in, his right hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully

"I hope it is a friendly being." Starfire said hopefully. "It appears to be so far."

"We should be cautious about it though." Raven pointed out in her usual monotonous voice. "It could trying to gain our trust, then it'll take us out."

The other three Titans nodded, agreeing with Raven whole-heartedly.

"I'd like to know about its powers though." Robin mentioned.

"My eye sensor got some scans in." Cyborg told them, tapping his mechanical red eye. "They were short, quick, and didn't pick up much, but I got some." Silence reigned for a second or two, as if the mechanical man was trying to build up suspense. "Whatever its powers are, they aren't light." Again, silence, no Titan knowing how to respond. "It looks like light, but it ain't. I don't know how to explain my readings... but its powers seemed like an energy of some sort. Just not light energy."

"Yes, that is interesting; but I am concerned for friend Beast Boy." Starfire interjected. "He seems most troubled."

"Think he's still seeing Terra?" Cyborg joked, pointing the green changeling's latest _visions_.

"... You're worst than him." Raven commented in an annoyed tone.

"He's too determined about his view for them to be illusions." Robin said, his logic overriding all other views. "I think Terra is actually back. We've checked the memorial, and no statue. Whatever is troubling him, it's not illusions of Terra."

"Terra's rejected him." Raven said with a knowledge no other Titan knew she had. "It's the only possibility. Remember when Terra was turned into a statue?" Each Titan said or did nothing, but silently told Raven they remembered only too well. "Beast Boy was practically was in so much pain, and when we couldn't find a cure it only got worst. He healed somewhat, time helped that, but now that she's back and has rejected him again, how do you think he feels?"

They all knew how he must feel, but no one said anything. They didn't need to. That was also the end of the discussion... They all got to their usual things. Cyborg cleaned the T-Car, Starfire prepare the evening meal, being sure to make many tofu foods especially for Beast Boy, Robin went to the training room, and Raven left to meditate.

In her room, Raven hovered above the ground, in the usual cross-legged position, eyes closed gracefully, and chanting the repetitious words of 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos'. This was beginning to prove much more mysterious than she first thought. The mind she sensed from 'Mr.Light-Show', as Cyborg had so aptly put, had been... unusual, in that it was somewhat closed off. She sensed the spark of intelligence, but much else was hidden. True she never got a good look in because she wasn't concentrating, and she didn't have the kind of close quarter contact needed for a full inspection, but she should have be able to feel more from the light blue fireball if that intelligence wasn't just an illusion. There were mind barriers put in place; poor ones, but they did a neat little job against the weak mind probe of Raven. When she got closer though...

She did sense a couple of things though; a deep-rooted anger, and from that anger came another feeling... suspicion of the Titans... all except one. She couldn't tell which one; again, because of the weakened nature of her mind probe, but the fireball trusted one of the Titans with its life, like it loved that Titan, and was the only one on this planet that it felt it could trust...

Things to ponder for another time though... and she'd find out where the fireball's refuge was another time. This was one of her few moments of peace in the tower; and she _would _enjoy it. Her mind eased from it's wonderment of the world, becoming emptier and emptier. Since the defeat of her father, she didn't need to meditate as much, but she kept it up at it's usual pace. She enjoyed the activity... but she couldn't fully empty her mind this time, she nether could when one of her friends was in the state Beast Boy was now. No matter how much she denied it; she had always been grateful for the company of her friends, and that included Beast Boy.

* * *

He sat on the bottom bunk of his bed. The room was messy, with comics strewn about the coloured green bedroom, and bedsheets ruffled from top to bottom. In his hands he held the butterfly haircomb he'd given Terra before her betrayal. He'd always kept it as his own personal memorial, and was now holding it tightly to him, as if to coax Terra back to him. He glanced up from the haircomb, expecting her to pop into the room suddenly like she'd wished a genie to do that. No such luck. 

"I sure am a lucky guy aren't I?" He idly muttered to himself.

There was a knock at the door. Strangely, he felt too weak to stand up and answer it, so he just muffled a 'Come in' to whoever was knocking... Terra maybe? No. It was Raven, her cold expression contrasting with a concealed concern in her eyes as she opened the door slowly.

"Hey Rae; need something?

"To see how you are doing." She told him with a soft harshness. "You and your problems are preventing me from meditating."

"Really?" Beast Boy gave a small laugh, and moved his gaze but down to stare at the haircomb still clutched in his fingers. "I knew I had that kind of effect on you."

"This'll be the only time." Raven told him firmly, stepping into his room and closing the door behind her with one hand. "Now what's wrong?"

"Nothing...

"Beast Boy; I'm an expert at keeping problems to myself, and I know when someone else is doing it."

"I don't want to talk about it!" He yelled at the haircomb but also at Raven.

She was shocked. She'd never seen him this angry... it was just a _wow _moment. She was an expert at keeping problems to herself, and she knew, unlike the teenager she was trying to help at the moment perhaps, when it was time to back off, and this was that time. She opened the door without turning around, and back-stepped out of the room. As she closed the door, she told him something.

"You know where to find me if you want to talk about it."

She closed the door fully, leaving Beast Boy alone in his room as she should be. There was no doubt in her mind now. She walked the corridor back to her room... The problem was Terra, and he could only deal with it himself.

Beast Boy clutched Terra's haircomb tighter, allowing one of his salt water tears to drop onto it with a tiny splash onto the hard surface.

* * *

Deep in the desert, the light blue fireball fell to earth at blinding speed, but slowed to a crawl and landed to the ground with a tiny thud. The glare began to fade since it was no longer flying at speed, and retreated into the cave before fading into a silhouette and disappearing into the darkness of it's refuge... It didn't like the darkness, but this was the best place... 

To hide...

* * *

_Author Notes__: Well, there's chapter 1. Onto chapter 2, and hopefully you've all enjoyed this chapter._


	2. Nothing Could Come Between Us

_Author Notes: First off, I'd like to thank 'Bert the Nomad' and 'Prnicess Aelita Lyoko' for being the two people to constantly review my fanfics. It is nice if you read but don't review, but it's even better to get reviews. ""hint hint"" ""wink wink""_

_So, as usual, please review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Nothing Could Come Between Us**

He hated her!

He loved her!

He felt everything towards her, but the green changeling knew that he loved her.

He was walking down the street, not paying attention to anyone or anything. Right now he just wanted to close up into his own little world, live in a fantasy where he could be with Terra forever. He wanted the memories to happen once again... He wanted good memories to happen all over again. The hugs, the good times... he wanted them to happen all over again. _History repeats itself _he told himself; but it was unlikely. Terra had made it so clear that she wanted to be alone, to save the world from herself... He bumped into a few people, but he didn't care about the tiny jolts from busy businessmen and women who couldn't care about heroes in the early morning rush.

"Life's a bitch for me isn't it?" He muttered, asking that to the people who were to busy to notice him

They'd break up; they'd make up, and then they'd break up again, only to make up again... An in and out relationship for him and the blond angel. Only this time the 'out' was staying that way. He really did hate her because she put him through this; but he knew he was only doing this to himself... He could leave Terra alone if he wanted to, but he couldn't; he felt drawn to her like a flame to fuel in a cliché Hollywood move scene, where the flame just _has t_o find the petrol and cause it to explode. At this rate; if he kept hurting himself over Terra, he'd lose his mind. Well, at least then he wouldn't feel the lingering pain of loss. Another jolt from a passer by; he didn't care. The pain was a numbing effect; it helped the pain somewhat in some strange way.

He looked up to the sky to see Starfire flying overhead; perhaps on some sort on early morning joy-flight like him; only he was walking, and this was hardly joy he was feeling. He hung his head back low, looking at the ground beneath him that only reminded him of Terra. It was always him who got it. Sure, his friends always managed to get some pain, but that always worked out for them, it didn't work out for him. He felt like being in a dream he couldn't wake up from, or perhaps he was in a Greek tragedy; and one of them would die... Nah, too much like a play; but there was something bugging him; why was he drawn to Terra? When Terra had been yelling at him, he could swear that underneath the base words, was a deeper meaning; almost like _'I wish I hadn't met you at all!' _So why wasn't he listening?

He kept on walking. Luckily the traffic of people was clearing. Shame that the numbing physical pain wouldn't be there anymore. His eyes moved upwards though his head didn't, and he could swear he saw Terra walking towards him from the opposite direction... School uniform, clutching her books, looking where she was doing; she looked good. She looked awfully good; so good he just wanted to grab hold of her and kiss her full on the lips. She kisses back, they find themselves wrapped up in each other, fall to the floor and... _I'm fantasising about her _his mind told him monotonously. Not that he didn't mind fantasising about her; but right there in the street with everyone watching?

Terra noticed him; and prayed that he stopped her and tried to talk to her once again. After yesterday, when they exchanged real name; by accident, she couldn't find the courage to talk to him again. She didn't want him to plead to her again, but she did want it. It made her feel... good, wanted, knowing that Beast Boy was practically on his knees begging her to come back. It wasn't the kind of derisive pleasure you get from seeing him beg, it was just, a feel good thing, knowing that he needed her... But she couldn't put him through all that again, she couldn't make him feel the pain of being with her. What happened last time? Slade tore them apart; and he could easily do so again. Truth be told, she was afraid of the risk. Afraid of facing everything again. It was tearing her up... not being able to be with him; but it was for the best. _For the best?_ Terra asked herself. Was that true? They could be... No, she wouldn't think like that! _This _was for the best.

Suddenly she perked up in, like a sudden electric shot had pulsed through her for a split second. Beast Boy was gone; they'd walked right past each other and she hadn't even realised it. The question now what what should do do? Turn around, go to Beast Boy and talk... or just keep walking? Talk or walk? Walk or talk? Walk... Talk!

Without realising it until it had occurred, her legs turned her one-hundred and eighty degrees, and increased her speed to a jog. It took a moment to reach him. Though the rush hour crowd had cleared a little, there was still a labyrinth of people to duck and dive through. She got up behind him after a moment.

"Beast Boy?"

His ears visibly woke up, twitching upwards at the sound of her voice. He stopped his march, causing Terra to stop too. He turned his head, and there stood Terra. He avoiding her today for a reason, but she'd come to him instead. Why? Well, he didn't want to complain; at least she was talking to him by choice for once.

"Is something up... Tara?"

Ouch! That stung... Not because he'd remembered her name; but something else... that he was slowly beginning to desensitize himself to the fact that she was now 'Tara Markov the schoolgirl', not 'alias: Terra'

"Well... no, it's just that you didn't try to talk me around this time. I was _almost _concerned." Almost? That's a laugh... She was concerned! Beast Boy just wasn't being Beast Boy like recently.

"You have told me in more ways than one that..." No point in repeating what she said. "Well, you know what you said." Beast Boy turned about so he was fully facing Terra. He had an idea; but she'd never take it... but it was always best to try. "I was wondering... I mean I know you wouldn't want to, and I know you have school... but I thought you might...

"Might what?"

"Have some breakfast with me?"

Breakfast? Either that was an extremely lame come on, or he was genuinely trying to make up for everything. She decided on the latter. She could see it in those deep dark green eyes that he was sincere. They held so much, and were so deep and... She mentally shook off her slow drown before she started to stare dumbly at him. She was hungry...

"Okay; on one condition." She noticed Beast Boy's eyes flicker slightly at her firm tone. "You don't say _anything _to try and get me to join the Titans again. Deal?"

"Deal." Beast Boy answered with a small smile. "Pizza?"

... Maybe breakfast wasn't such a good idea after all...

* * *

"Anyone know where Starfire is?" Robin was searching the tower for Starfire.

Coming to the main room with the crescent moon couch and the overly huger T.V., he found Cyborg and Raven having morning breakfast. Cyborg was having his traditional waffles, and Raven was having some sandwiches, he didn't know what was in them, and some herbal tea, while peacefully reading a book.

"Not a clue." Cyborg muffled through the two or three waffles in his mouth.

"She went flying." Raven told them both. Both boys looked at her just before she took a sip of her herbal tea. "She didn't tell me where."

"Probably just went on a morning flight." Cyborg suggested. "I wouldn't be too concerned."

"Well... alright." Robin surrendered, though a strange worry stayed in his throat. "But if she doesn't come back soon..."

* * *

Pizza for breakfast… It was strange to say the least; but stranger things have happened in the world. Right? Being breakfast, the pizza was small, dotted with tomato slices and gratings of cheese. Cheese and tomato, the vegetarian choice. After all, she was with Beast Boy

"How are you liking it?" The green changeling asked Terra.

"Fine…" She answered with no hint of emotion in her voice.

She sensed Beast Boy sink back into his own world a little. She hadn't really been paying much attention to him because she didn't really want to look at him. This had not been such a hot idea… She wanted to stay away from Beast Boy and keep him away... but here she was, enjoying a small pizza with him. _I must be giving out so many mixed messages _She told herself, taking another small bite of her slice, eyes always closed. She couldn't deny that, despite the uneasy silence, she was happy about this small breakfast.

It was the pizza place where she always went past just a little faster to avoid the memories. This would be just one more good memory to add to the list named 'Avoid at all costs!' They were sat at one of the typically unstable white plastic tables, and sat on white plastic chairs. Terra had placed her books near the edge of the table, while the plate for the pizza lay in the centre. Terra sat on the right, and him on the Beast Boy. She opened her eyes after swallowing and looked over at Beast Boy. He was silently munching the crust of his last pizza slice, being surprisingly mature about eating. Normally he was the noisiest eater she'd even seen; or heard, but here he was being quiet and slow about it… Like he was trying to sedate her and open her up. She wouldn't submit.

"Te-… Ta-…" Beast Boy stumbled over his words after finishing his crust. "What do you want me to call you by?"

"Whatever you like." Terra answered apathetically.

"Terra…" He hadn't really planned much else of what he was going to say to her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"This." He pointed to her books with his thumb in a hitch-hiker style. "Why are you running from your past?"

"I'm… not running!" Terra fuddled the words out of her mouth, glaring at Beast Boy, whose face turned stern as stone. "I'm trying to protect people from me."

"Yeah right!" He slammed his fist onto the table, shocking Terra but she didn't recoil. "You're just scared Terra, just like when you betrayed us!"

Silence fell like a falling bird from the sky, then crashing into the ground in one large splat. Terra's expression had switched into one of speechless shock, and she just stared at Beast Boy with this expression. The green changeling's face went into a calm expression, but from his wide eyes he was nervous, realising what he had just shouted at her. It was definitely not the best thing to say... Especially if he was trying to get back onto at least friendly terms. Now he'd gone and blown it! _Stupid!_ He noticed Terra's expression seem to transform into one of pure anger, it even seemed to jerk tighter every so often... then it seemed to slowly calm, but her eyes maintained an air of anger.

"Thanks for reminding me... bastard!" Terra could only say to him, just below the threshold of screaming at him.

"Sorry!" Beast Boy said back in the same half-shout as Terra. "But you have to admit it Terra... you're scared."

"Of course I'm scared!" This time Terra slammed her fist into the table, performing the action so hard the flimsy plastic table rocked, causing the metal that once held the pizza to rattle. "I'm scared of hurting anyone and everyone the moment I use my powers. I'm scared I'm going to hurt everyone I care about."

Once again, silence... It seemed like a persistent bull that was trying to shake off it's rider. The silence this time seemed to calm things however. Both green changeling and blond geomancer eased themselves down to a mutual quiet, which only added to the silence. Throughout it they just stared, finding themselves adrift in each others eyes. Terra could only stare at those dark green eyes. They were just so deep, spoke so much about the inner turmoil that Beast Boy was experiencing... and about her, and what she was doing... god it tore her apart inside! To see the pain she was causing that he barely let out on the surface, letting his jester-like humour blanket it.

"Terra..." Beast Boy began quietly. "I'm sorry for what I just said. I'm just angry about... what's happened-"

"I'm not surprised." Terra interrupted with a strange calm in her voice; apparently beginning to return to her soft, ignorant schoolgirl demeanour. "I would be too." She began reaching for her school books, now messed up slightly from the recent fist slams on the table. "I need to go."

Her fingertips grazed the top of the book pile, very lightly at that, teasingly so, but her hand was stopped by another grabbing her wrist. Next, her hand was moved back, then held in the gloved hand of Beast Boy. He was trying to keep her here just a moment longer. She stared at Beast Boy's face again, which now seemed to be one of deep longing.

"Beast Boy; I need to go. I have school" She tried to imitate urgency, but in her heart she relished this last moment, her hand held soothingly in his.

"This won't take a moment." Beast Boy told her, biting his bottom lip as he did, though his eyes never diverted from Terra's. "I have a one favour to ask... then we can be on whatever relationship basis _you_ want us to be."

She could only nod slowly and calmly. Her heart though was beating so fast it could probably look like a flat line on a heart monitor. Something about that last statement made her nervous, tense, put her in suspense... and left her anticipating something... something they had done together once before, but they were rudely interrupted before it actually occurred.

"Terra; remember that time at the fair?" She could only nod again. Her hand, the one held by Beast Boy, was beginning to heat up from being held for so long. She noticed a tiny blush on Beast Boy's cheeks. "We never... We never finished that night..."

_What the hell is he talking about? _Terra asked herself inside her head. _Never finished the night? What could he... oh... _Her stomach acid was churning now, and add that to the over-active heartbeat she was having, and she felt sick... but in a strangely good sort of way.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked at last, his voice so soft and soothing.

He didn't wait for an answer, but he moved his face towards hers at a caterpillar pace, even as a bright pink blush adorned her cheeks. He felt no resisting push on his chest, heard no words that told him to stop, so he told himself that she wanted this too. He was halfway in when his eardrums responded to words spoken by the blond girl who's personal space he was invading.

"I'm doing this for me," she whispered to him as she began moving forward at a nervous pace, "not for you."

"I can live with that." He whispered back to her so quietly her ears barely detected any sound.

They connected.

Fireworks seemed to erupt all along her lips. They had kissed for the first time! Everything else melted: her life, her past, her future, everything melted in the melding of hot lips. This moment was all that mattered. She kissed back, falling straight into his kiss, and she began to hold the hand Beast Boy had been using to hold hers, tangling up their fingers in Christmas wrapping. Screw everything about being a schoolgirl who wanted nothing to do with her past; this wasn't the past, this was the here and now, and she'd relish it.

Only it was all over so soon.

A large crash was heard, and instinctively Beast boy's head spun so he could look left, the direction of the explosion. Terra turned her head in the opposite direction at the exact same time, as if that crash had been some sort of warning beacon that the kiss was lingering a bit too long. It lasted a magnificent five seconds... her head told it was a lifetime. She held a hand up to the side of her face, and rested it on her skin, hiding her intense blush. She hung her head low so her hair could act as a secondary shield.

Beast Boy turned back to Terra, and tried to see her face, but it as well hidden.

"Terra, I have to go."

"Yeah..." She dead panned to him, doing a surprisingly good job of hiding her embarrassment.

She heard Beast Boy run off, and quickly grabbed her books... In her heart, as she collected her books, she told herself that she should be helping him; but she'd promised herself never to use her powers again. Terra finished collecting up her books, and immediately began walking towards school, in the opposite direction to Beast Boy.

That kiss had been truly a thing to treasure, even if she was going to lock the memory away in a filing cabinet.

Unknown to either of them; a waiter came out to give them the bill; only neither of them was there.

* * *

Cinderblock had begun his rampage. No one really knew what he was after, but he just seemed to be destroying things for fun this morning. Civilians were scattering in panic as Cinderblock overturned a car onto it's roof with a scary ease. He then began stomping down the road, eventually reaching another car and bringing both granite like fists down on top of it, crushing it like a can, an causing an alarm to go off. This continued down the road, craters left wherever his feet had stamped into the ground. The end of the street was marked with a large building, a skyscraper, with more civilians scattering out of the front door like frightened rabbits. Cinderblock stomped up to the front door. A man was left frozen just outside the front door; and he could only watch on in terror as Cinderblock swung his fists over his head, and prepared to bring them down on top of him, which would no doubt turn him into mush. The man, who was wearing a typical black suit, clasped his head into his heads and clenched his eyes shut, attempting to wish away his nightmare.

A growl that sounded like grinding stones was heard. The man opened one eye, shaking and sobbing with fear. It was like a dream; for the large granite man was no longer standing over him like a tower block, about to turn him into a gooey pulp with collapsing rubble. He stood up straight once again, and the road was just empty, besides the carnage left by Cinderblock.

All of a sudden, a person walked past him; walking in the direction of the man's left, towards Cinderblock, but it was like no person he'd ever seen. This teenage looking kid was very different... For a start, there seemed to be a glowing aura of what look like light blue light that flared like a fire...

* * *

Beast Boy had transformed into a green ostrich and ran to the scene at best speed. Needless to say, he got a lot of stares, but he was running half way across the city, and an ostrich seemed a better option than a cheetah, which could only sprint short distances.

He turned left onto the road where Cinderblock had first been sited. It was a mess of broken ground and smashed cars. He skidded to stop and went back into human form. Walking cautiously down the road he surveyed the damage... Cinderblock could do this easily, no doubt about it. He turned right, walking around the corner, and noticed three things. One, another badly smashed street. Two, Cinderblock was laying flat on his back, his feet pointing at Beast Boy. Three, stood at the granite giant's feet was a teenaged kid, who was apparently staring down at Cinderblock.

Beast Boy kept up his cautious walk, now making it silent as he watched this teenage kid. From the looks of things, he was male, and wearing a dulled white long sleeve top, with a dulled white robe for his legs. He wore black boots, and over his back with two green straps, each going in a diagonal direction, forming a 'X' shape on his back. The straps were quite wide and went into a brown belt wrapped around his waist. The straps were a dark green and dotted in equal distances with studs, which were a light green. The straps were green. His hair was red, as in pure red. It was also pointing downwards, appearing almost like Raven's hair-style, though it was spiked at the ends rather then cut straight. He had quite broad shoulders, and the slightly loose sleeves he wore appeared to hide gently muscled, but fairly large arms for his age. His back was also gently muscled. Over his shoulders seemed something like an overhead shade thing, he couldn't really tell what it was, but it was curved almost to the point of seeming sharp, and bent downwards.

The red-haired kid suddenly shot around and glared at Beast Boy. He had intense brown eyes, which had the tiniest hint of red, which were around average size, and his skin seemed to be a slightly dull peach. He had a slightly long nose. At the front of his hair were two tufts that went down the sides of his head, and perhaps a little down the front, each in about three unequal spikes. He also had red eyebrows, which were the average width and thickness it seemed. The sleeves were uneven as well. The front stopped at the wrists, but the backs went past his hands, which were covered with brownish-red fingerless gloves. He seemed to be about Raven's height, though perhaps two or three centimetres taller at most. His unusual white top had a thin triangular cut down the centre which stopped just above where the green straps crossed over each other in their 'X' shape, showing off part of his chest; or it would had it not been covered in what seemed to be a light black top underneath.

Beast Boy stared with a confused expression at the strange teenage male as he kept up his cautious walk. He surmised this kid had taken down Cinderblock single handed. Something puzzled him though... As he got closer, this unknown kid's expression got changed more and more. The stare remained, but it was now more based around fear, his face fully visible to the green changeling, his teeth gritted, and his eyes wide and dilated.

"Dude..." Beast Boy began softly as he kept walking, "you okay?"

"Back off!" The kid yelled, throwing his right arm up and pointing an open palm at Beast Boy. "Not another step!"

Beast Boy stopped walking, not willing to risk a challenge against this kid, who's possible powers and abilities were unknown at this time. There was also something else... This kid seemed human enough, but his unusual clothing and even more unusual red hair pointed to one of two things: he was foreign, or he wasn't human.

The kid slowly lowered his arm, his now half-fearful half-intense stare remaining. Suddenly, a bright blue aura erupted around him, apparently coming from nowhere. It seemed to flare around him a like a fire... this was the fireball! In a great display of speed, the kid lifted off the ground and flew above the rooftops, a light blue con-trail following on a foot behind the red-haired teenager. He then shot away in the direction of the desert.

* * *

_"This was the scene from earlier today." A news reporter commented on the television. "The unknown red-haired boy single-handedly took down Cinderblock, but then apparently threatened Beast Boy before flying off at high speed, as this footage shows." Shaky camera footage of the entire scene was played, clearly an amateur video from some of the badly focused shots and grainy visuals. "Whoever this teenage boy is, his motives seem unclear at this time. Chief of police, Jonathan Green, had this to say..."_

_The police chief, a mike held near to his mouth, came up on the television._

_"While this kid sees to have good motives; after his threat to one of the Titans, we can only guess if his motives are good. We shall take no other action than to keep an eye on this teenager until his motives become clear."_

_"And that's all from us," the reporter said, now back on screen, "this is Mike Namble for Channel Seven News."_

The huge television of Titans Tower flicked off, the remote held by Cyborg. It was now two in the afternoon. The five Titans were sat on the crescent moon couch, all facing each other. From left to right sat Starfire, Beast Boy, Robin, Cyborg, then Raven.

"Well, this guy seems okay." Cyborg said. "A bit uptight, but okay."

"You're kidding right?" Raven dead panned "He threatened Beast Boy, and if he is the fireball in the sky that's been flying around, we've seen what he can do."

"Don't you threaten me all the time Raven?" Beast Boy asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows at her from across the couch.

"That's different..." She told him monotonously.

"We should do as the police are doing." Robin told them. "We'll wait till his motives are clear. Raven, tonight, use your telepathic powers and find out where this guy is."

"Shouldn't we just stop him?" Raven asked, challenging her leader. "He's dangerous."

"When I saw the dude," Beast Boy interrupted, leaning forward on his knees with his forearms, "there was something in his eyes. It wasn't malice or anger or anything like that... It was fear. For whatever reason I don't know, this guy is scared of me, perhaps all of us. Perhaps we should just help him."

"We'll wait till his motives are clear!" Robin told them all firmly. "Raven, tonight, use your telepathic powers and find out where this guy is. If we can find where he lives we've got a better chance of tracking what he does."

She nodded gently as confirmation that she would do just that. The Titans all stood up and went about their activities. Robin went to training, Raven went to her room, presumably to mediate, Cyborg went to the garage, and Beast Boy also went to his room What none of them had noticed was that Starfire had remained totally silent throughout the entire meeting between the five heroes, with a concerned expression criss-crossing her face. She went to the kitchen and began cooking, pulling out a bowl and dropping in some berries, preparing the night's zorka berry pie, and trying to ward off Silkie from the said berries. She pulled out a wooden spoon and began stirring, and kept on stirring...

After half an hour, while she was still cooking, Robin came back into the room and stood at the counter. He seemed to be in the final phases of panting hard, most likely from his training, and he seemed to be somewhat sweaty on his face; which seemed to have been recently wiped off. Ignoring how good he looked at this moment, or how close he was, she continued her stirring.

He noticed how Starfire looked, a strange expression of concern on her face.

"Star, is something up?" He asked her gently.

"No," she told him quickly, her gaze shooting up from the bowl she was using to the mask of Robin. "everything is perfectly fine." She gave him a nervous smile.

Robin's eyebrow raised in confusion. Starfire normally wasn't this nervous about anything... Unless she was hiding something important... Was she? Should he be pushing her for an answer? The side of him that was her friend told him to leave it, but the detective in him told him to ask her again... The two sides waged an inner war, each thrusting and parrying frantically. That war lasted all of three seconds. His decision was made!

"Starfire, you're hiding something." He told her in a simple yet uncompromising tone. "What is it?"

The red-headed alien girl sighed hard into the bowl of now liquidated zorka berries. She couldn't deny him the information she held... She had to tell him something otherwise the trust between them would be shattered at a later date. She had to tell him _something_...

"It is... possible... that I know this teenage boy that defeated Cinderblock; and threatened friend Beast Boy." She noticed Robin's expression changed into one of a serious curiosity. "I am not certain however. I do have a personal database of people I knew from before I first came to Earth. I shall look through it tonight and attempt to find out who it is.

She noticed Robin's expression, or what she could see of it due to his eyes being hidden behind the mask, revert to it's normal calm but serious posture. She'd dodged the bullet, and Robin would ease off for the time being

"Okay Starfire. If you find anything, let me know."

She nodded politely, and he went to sit on the couch, turning the television back on to watch the news for any extra information. After over half an hour of stirring the zorka berries non-stop, she noticed that they were now just a liquid. She been so concerned with events from this morning that she had lost track of times and how long she had been stirring. Whispering a curse word in Tamaranean, she poured the liquid berries down the drain and put a fresh batch into the bowl... this time double the amount she would normally need.

* * *

Raven came out of her room an hour later, refreshed from her meditation, her hood down and her cloak wrapped around her. Things were still troubling her however. For a start; this new guy. He'd threatened Beast Boy, and that meant one thing to her... He couldn't be trusted! In her mind they should find this red-haired teenage kid and stop him before his. This was pointless though, Robin had told her what to do and she would do it, no matter how much she disagreed with his methods. Robin's methods seemed... ludicrous, sometimes. Her mind growled at the boy wonder, then she sighed outright to calm her mind again.

"Hey Rae." A friendly voice called out from behind her.

Cyborg jogged up and walked next to her down the corridor. When he had been jogging she could almost feel the floor vibrate because of the big metal man's size and probable weight.

"Can I help you?" She asked monotonously.

"Can _I _help you?" He repeated to her, noticing how she seemed plagued by thoughts.

"Maybe... This new guy; what do you think of him?"

"The redhead?" He asked rhetorically. "I think he's scared and confused."

"And that's why he threatened Beast Boy?" She asked in a dry tone, moving her eyes to the corners so she could look at the tall teenage half-man.

"Remember when Starfire first came to Earth?" Raven nodded very slightly, the signal for him to continue. "Remember how scared and confused she was?"

"Is this going somewhere?" Raven asked harshly, hurrying him along with his point.

"Think about it... He's scared and confused by Earth. We're just lucky he isn't wrecking everything like Starfire did."

"I suppose we're also lucky he already knows English." Raven joked sarcastically in her monotone.

She looked away when Cyborg chuckled quite heartily. The issue of the 'first kiss' between Robin and Starfire always got a laugh from him.

"All I'm saying is, the dude is trying to help, but he doesn't trust anyone yet. If we give him time to adjust to us, he might be more... hospitable. You had to adjust to us."

"I'm still adjusting..." Raven mentioned sarcastically.

Cyborg chuckled again, causing Raven to role her eyes in response. Cyborg then gave Raven a small pat on the back, his way of saying goodbye for now. Raven didn't know which way he went, but once again she was walking the corridors alone... peaceful... quiet... _That's not right!_ her brain informed her. Beast Boy was supposed to be running about all over the place with all sorts of noisy words and pranks. She remembered then that he was in his room again. It was rare Beast Boy wanted to be alone; but she knew when it was best to leave people alone, so she shoved that concern to the back of her head. Her concern now was finding this red-headed teenage boy who had threatened her friend for no reason.

This guy would not hurt her friends!

* * *

_More Author Notes: if the description of the red-headed kid wasn't sufficient to give you a good mental image, then here is the link to a picture of him:http/ I would suggest avoiding links if you want to avoid spoilers. All details of him have been removed, so as to keep the mystery and remove potential spoilers.)_

_P.S. The picture in the link wasn't created by me, and in the picture his eyes are brown. Decided to keep them brown._


	3. Talking With Fire

_Author Notes: A scene in the original 'X-Men' movie influenced part of this particular chapter. I wonder if you'll notice what I mean._

_In this chapter, the focus also shifts onto the red-haired kid. It won't remain like that for the entire story._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Talking With Fire**

The dark of night.

This was traditionally seen as her time. Raven's time. It was peaceful, it was quiet, it her in many respects. Tonight was her time to shine.

She sat cross-legged, hovering about two feet from the floor of her room, which was lit only by the dim moonlight through her window, which afforded a haunting presence. She was meditating, index finger and thumb pressed together softly, eyes closed gracefully and gently, and hood down with her cloak draped around her shoulder, the bottom of it resting on the floor in a clump of blue fabric. She was preparing for her out of body experience. Using her powers she would leave her body, and scan all over the city for the red-haired kid. Already she could feel herself suspicious of this guy… his behaviour for a start. First he helps them out, then he threatens to blast Beast Boy into the next dimension for an unknown reason, which was, apparently, fear. Somehow she'd convinced herself that what Beast Boy said about his encounter with him was inaccurate. It couldn't have been fear the green changeling saw in the red-haired boys eyes! He'd taken down Cinderblock all by himself, and before that wiped out Mad Mod's fleet in a single fell swoop; why would he be afraid of Beast Boy?

Raven took in a deep breath, drawing in fresh oxygen slowly so her lungs could relish this final injection before having to make do with slow, gentle breathing. She released just as slowly, feeling the air shift as her nose expelled the excess gas her body held. She'd done something similar with Robin when she entered his head. She wasn't going to enter this red-haired kid's head though; the thought wasn't appealing.

The time was now. She was in total calm, total peace and total quiet. When she left her body like this last time; to enter Robin's head, it had been a rush job. This time she was slow, taking almost an hour of meditation and preparation for this. Not only would this allow a much longer range, but also it meant her search could be methodical.

She released.

Her mind had left her body in the form of a black, ethereal Raven with a glowing white rim and glowing with eyes to match. Since this was an ethereal form, no one would see it. The raven turned about and phased through the window to the city. The raven flew over the city rooftops, scanning the night sky for anyone wearing… unusual clothing, or with an unusual hairstyle or colour, or a bright blue fireball. The night was cold and wet, raining profusely and bombing the ground with droplets of water. When the raindrops hit the ground, they exploded in a cascade of shrapnel-like water. The water simply passed through the ethereal black raven. The skies were clean of all light blue fireballs that jetted around at high speed.

The black raven turned its gaze downward, beginning a long and laborious search of the ground. It searched every nook and cranny, every alley, and nothing resembling the red-haired teenager was found. Despite that the streets were relatively clear of people because of the night and the weather… though that most likely meant this guy was inside as well. So now came an even more laborious task; searching inside every single building. This task proved even longer… The mind's eye could easily see through all the artificial walls of man, but the rooms were so jumbled that it was hard to see anyone; but the raven managed to make out every single, unique person. Still… no luck in finding the target.

Over two hours of searching the night sky, the streets and the buildings of Jump City, and the elusive red-haired teenager with the unknown motives could not be found anywhere. Where was he? Did he just happen to teleport to Jump City if and when he wished? There was one possibility left before she had to return to her body for the night… the underground. Once again, the mind's eye could see past any artificial blockage to her sight, and the black ethereal raven, Raven's mind, finally had some luck. Her mind quickly spun about and flew back to Titans Tower, and went back into Raven's mind, piercing through the skin and bone to return to the conscious world. The grey-skinned sorceress raised her eyelids to release her intense violet eyes, and her breathing returned to its normal, gentle rhythm.

"There you are…"

* * *

Raven flew to the building that stood on top of where she had seen the red-haired teenager. As she flew she used her powers to create a thin black shield above her, curved downwards and over her like an umbrella. No point in getting wet and catching a cold. She found the building below her, and lowered herself down, altering her makeshift umbrella as she did. Her feet touched the ground with barely a whisper, placing her on the pavement, one foot away from the door. She stared at the building she was going to enter. This was the worst part of Jump City for crime. It wasn't run down, and thanks to the Titans this was still a crime free area; but the Titans can't do everything to protect the city.

Underneath this building, built with grey stone and standing as tall as a regular house, surrounded by many similar buildings and with the silhouette of skyscrapers in the background, was where she would find the red-haired teenager that had threatened Beast Boy. She could've told the team about her discovery, but for some reason she wanted to do this herself; as if she had some sort of grudge against this person… it made no sense really. She hadn't even talked to him and she had a grudge against him. It was _almost _funny.

The room the red-haired teenager was in was sixty foot in both length and width. She wasn't able to determine the height since she was searching from above; and she had only seen people in their, no details, so anything could be inside that underground room besides her target. She stepped towards the door and it suddenly turned pitch black from its metallic, rusty brown. She casually walked through it, letting her black umbrella fade away as she did. She had passed into a dark corridor lit only by a single bulb hanging precariously from the ceiling.

"Hey!" A gruff voice shouted at her from behind. Probably the door guard. "You ain't paid!"

Raven turned about to see him, a bald, muscled man in a white shirt and jeans with a goatee. Next, she calmly lifted up her hand, and her eyes glowed a menacing white from under her hood. Her black magic powers took hold of the man by the waist, and flung him backwards into the door with a small twist of her hand. The muscled guard was rendered a wimp, slumping uselessly to the ground, sat on the ground and leant against the door, slouched forward and out cold. Raven's eyes faded, returning to their regular look and colour of violet. She turned her back to the out cold door guard and continued her walk down the corridor and into the underground.

She had to proceed down some stairs, which was to be expected, and also had to pass through a bar full of rough looking muscled men in dirty clothing. None of them took any real notice of her or tried to avoid being seen in such a seedy place, each man thinking the blue-cloaked Teen Titan was after them. After a quick question to the bartender, he directed her to another door in the back of the bar. She walked through it calmly, entering suddenly into a wall of blasting jeers aimed at the centre of the room. It the centre of this room was a large cage, hexagonal in shape and twenty foot high, sealed to the roof. A mat was also in the ring, about two feet high off the ground; like a wrestling ring. She recognised it from catching glances of Cyborg watching such wrestling shows on the tower television. This was a fight club. She heard such events happened in Jump City's underworld, and she didn't doubt it. What she did doubt when she'd first seen it from her bird's eye view, was that her target, the red-haired teenager, would participate in such things.

In the ring were four people: the red-haired kid Beast Boy had described, and had been shown on TV, who was stood at the far end of the ring, leaning against one side of the cage. His white top and green straps over that top were gone, leaving him in a form fitting light-ish black tank top and his lower clothing that he had worn in his encounter with Beast Boy. He was leaning against the cage with his right arm, which was straight and taut. His muscles were small, but he looked like he had been in some sort of intensive training for much of his life, which would explain those small, but easily noticeable muscles. He was in a form fitting tank top with no sleeves after all. He appeared to be panting hard with his heaving back, which only amplified the curves of his back through the tank top. A middle aged and slightly overweight announcer in a worn black suit stood in the centre of the ring, while another man, thin and meek, standing barely five foot six and wearing a similar suit to the announcer, attempted to tug out a man twice his size. This man had long black hair, black t-shirt and jeans, and out cold, and was muscled beyond comprehension, most likely on steroids. He also had a broken nose for his face, which was bleeding badly.

Raven stood in the background, keeping herself close to the corner of the room and on the other side of the room to the red-haired boy in the ring. This was where the shadows were strongest, where she could observe without problems. She didn't want to reveal herself to the red-haired boy just yet; she wanted to see what she and the other Titans could potentially be up against. Did she really need to though? If he could take down a man pumped full of steroids, muscled beyond comprehension, then did she really need to? The answer was yes; she wanted to see how he fought.

The announcer suddenly began bellowing to the baying crowd through his microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen… another proud warrior fallen." His voice was typical of announcers: large, piercing through the jeers, bellowing, with a slight cowboy tinge to it. The perfect voice for the night. "Will you let this kid…" He pointed to the red-haired boy, "walk away with all your hard earned money?"

"NO!" The crowd screamed in unison; a moment unique in the chaos of the screams for blood. The red-haired kid didn't respond, apparently unconcerned about whether he was popular or not.

"I'll fight him!" A single voice came from the crowd, barely indistinguishable. He made his way to the gate. The red-haired boy still gave no response.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" The announcer said it again, now sounding much more optimistic in the usual mocking sort of way. "Our messiah!"

The crowd gave one combined cheer through the chaos of jeers. It was obvious that for whatever reason they did not like the red-haired boy. The challenger stepped into the ring confidently, and the metal door closed. The challenger wore a black t-shirt with the words 'Menacing Motherf9#er' emblazoned across the front, in that pointless censoring, and a pair of green jeans. He was well muscled; not unnaturally so, but he was ripped enough to show he was a professional body builder. He had brown eyes and short, gelled blond hair. The challenger raised his arms above his head and the crowd jeered once again.

"This fight has all the usual rules…" The announcer again, warming up the crowd with a few seconds silence. "There are no rules!" Another collective cheer from the mob, much louder than any cheer Raven had heard before.

Raven was pondering why people like this wanted blood, why these people were fighting like this for entertainment, and why this red-haired kid with apparently more or less good intentions was fighting in such a place. It was just another reason for her to be suspicious, and another reason why she thought Robin's decision to watch and wait was wrong… She was watching and waiting though, just in a way that was giving evidence for the argument against the red-haired boy.

She noticed the announcer and blond-haired challenger come together whispering in each other's ear. The announcer had his hand over the mike to mute his words. With the cheers of an impatient crowd and those two speaking only in whispers, she couldn't hear what they were saying.

The red-haired kid in the ring however, could hear them, though he still gave no response to what they said.

"Whatever you do don't hit him in the crotch!" The announcer whispered.

"You said they're no rules..." The blond man asked, hands on his hips, confusion sketched all over is face and voice.

"No rules... but if you do; you'll just make him angry.."

The announcer backed off, putting himself in a secluded area of the ring, and acting as a referee, though he had nothing to do in reality. The red-haired kid was doing nothing, despite the bell suddenly ringing. The challenger, the short haired and muscled blond walked up behind him and grabbed the red-haired teenager by his shoulders. He yanked the red-haired kid back slightly, then shoved him into the cage with a brutal push. His grip still strong, the challenger swung him in front of him, and began 'pounding down' on the red-haired kid. A quick left jab, a hard knee to the gut, then a right uppercut to his face, His brawling style of fighting apparently getting the better of this punk kid. The red-haired kid lurched back up, then the challenger head butted him suddenly, sending him stumbling backwards. Next, the challenger grabbed the red-haired kid by his hair and head butted him again. The crowd cheered their approval, baying for blood. Raven watched on from her spot in the shadowy corner with an apathetic look on her face.

The challenger gave two quick jabs to the red-haired kid's chest, then a very fast left swing to his face. The red-haired kid spun one hundred eighty degrees and fell to the floor, landing on his hands and knees and panting hard. This didn't seem right to Raven. If he could defeat Cinderblock... he was toying with him. The challenger meanwhile was showboating, much to the approval of the mob wanting the red-haired kid battered and bloody. This challenger could be the one do to that.

The red-haired kid began to move. He spat a glob of blood from his mouth onto the mat below him, then slowly but confidently got back up to an upright position, but he didn't turn about to face his opponent. The short blond-haired challenger noticed this, and with a devilish grin on his face swung a meaty right punch at the back of the kid's head. For a single second, Raven's stomach squeezed itself tight.

The red-haired kid spun about in a feat of near inhuman speed, swinging his own left fist to counter the challenger's right. The fists connected, and the challenger's fist evaporated into an open palm. He yelped in agony and stumbled backwards clutching his hand with his now only good one. The crowd began to jeer at the red-haired kid once again, making their feelings clearly known. Raven noticed the red-haired kid's face; and his intense blue eyes, despite being so far away from, his face. His face had one of sheer anger on it, no apparent fear in them at all. Beast Boy had to have been mistaken. The red-haired kid spat onto the mat again, this time in apparent disgust with a blob of saliva. He marched up to the challenger, and swung a hard left, then a hard right, and a left to the gut, all in quick succession. Suddenly, he spun left, on the spot, lifting his leg up to the challenger face as he did. His foot connected in a powerful roundhouse kick that had the challenger spin in the air then collapse to the floor in a messy heap. A surprisingly quick fight for the crowd, which jeered their disappointment; among other things. The red-haired kid didn't make any other sound from his mouth, but simply glared at the unworthy challenger, who was out cold, blood leaking from his nostrils and out cold, The red haired kid returned to his original position, leaning on the cage with a straight right arm, panting hard.

The crowd jeered in a constant stream of disapproval and anger at yet another victory for this punk red-headed teenager. Raven had watched the entire fight with a mixture of apathy and interest, if only to see what this kid was capable of, and he was capable of quite a bit from the looks of things. The announcer plodded back into the centre of the ring and held the mike back up to his mouth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your winner and still reigning champion... Nexus!"

_Nexus_... so that was his name.

* * *

The crowd was gone now, the room silent and the cage empty, besides one man. Nexus.

He stood in the centre of the ring, his white shirt and green straps back on over his light-ish black tank top. His head was hung low, and he stood calm, silent, and alone. This was just so peaceful for him, a rare moment, so he would cherish. No one near him, an empty room, just the silence of still air. He took in a deep breath. The air stunk of the people's sweat, and it was warm. Not how he liked it, but he'd have to make do. No one else, just him. He let out the breath, releasing all that warm, sweaty air. He stepped to his left, keeping his right foot still, and outstretched both of his arms forward. This was how he centered himself in the quiet, at least one way. He swung his right arm to his right with a graceful slowness. He heard the door to the cage open, despite how silently it opened. His ritual interrupted, he went back to an upright position and turned to look at that door.

Walking through that doorway was a girl about his age, about two centimetres below his height, wrapped in a dark blue cloak and hood and with icy, piercing violet eyes.

"How did you like the fight?"

"I don't come to these things." Raven told him icily. "I only came to talk to you."

"I'm honoured." He took a very slight bow and stood upright once again. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why did you threaten Beast Boy?"

"The green guy?" Raven gave no response, physical or verbal in order to answer his question. He sighed. "I'm sorry about that; it's just... something..."

"Something what?" Raven demanded an answer harshly.

"Something that I don't want to talk about." He told her. "It's... a personal matter. I'm sure you can respect the right to privacy."

Yes she could, but this _something _was a threat to the entire city, and most importantly, her friends.

"Let me make one thing clear," Raven began with her monotone harshness, "threaten any of my friends again, and I _will_ take you down!"

Nexus looked at Raven once again, and bowed, this time in a slightly deeper bow to show that it wasn't sarcastic. Raven began to step closer, so they didn't have to talk across the space of the cage. After taking some steps however, coming within five feet of him, she heard and saw Nexus put one foot back, as if in a defensive posture. She continued walking however until she was about one foot away from him and looked into his eyes. His fists were clenched, and he was tensed up, as if like a snake about to strike. She didn't need her powers to sense what she knew was in his eyes; fear. She didn't know what the fear was, or why it was there, but it was there, glinting in his eyes.

"Please..." He asked in an almost meek voice "... don't come any closer."

"I don't have some kind of disease if that's what you're thinking." She told him that half sarcastically, thinking her pale grey skin was the cause.

"I-It's not that... It's... the something."

So it was the something, but why did he fear anyone and everyone? It dawned on her that his panting during the fight earlier had not been from exhaustion, but from the same fear he was showing now.

"So why aren't you threatening me?" She asked in her cold tone.

"You just made me promise not to threaten your friends, so I won't threaten you either. Now please..."

Raven back-pedalled slightly, putting some distance between herself and Nexus before stopping and staring at him again. Nexus eased his tense stance, stepping back into an upright position.

"Thank you." he sighed. "I apologise for threatening you friend, it won't happen it again."

"Just because you've promised doesn't mean I trust you." Raven told him.

"I understand." He replied calmly, taking in a deep breath and releasing. "I'm not looking for your trust anyway, I'm only here to find someone. Once I find him, I'll be going, and you can have your turf back."

'Your turf back'? That sounded like some kind of _street talk_, not something she was fond of. If he was trying to sound cool, he'd failed.

Raven turned about and headed for the door to this cage, Nexus turned around himself, and prepared to initiate that strange ritual he was doing. She'd been left with more questions than answers and-

"Hey!" A blond-haired man shoved past Raven just as she got to the door. "We need to talk boy!"

Nexus turned around and glared at this man. Twice now he'd been interrupted. It was the blond-haired man, the challenger he'd annihilated earlier. He noticed that Raven stayed in the doorway, watching with a mewling interest.

"No one can walk away from the beating I gave you without some kind of mark to show for it." Indeed, Nexus did not seem to have nay sort of bruise to show for the pounding he'd received. "I want a cut of your money." The man rubbed his index finger and thumb together in some mock-up of an Italian gangster.

Nexus didn't answer; he just glared in an even sharper way, not backing down from the stubborn idiot. He guessed that he might have been to rough on this guy and damaged his brain, not that it made much real difference. He noticed the blond-haired man's right hand by his belt, he also noticed the hilt of something... a gun.

"So you've got a gun..." Nexus mocked in a parent like voice. "Those aren't toys you know?"

"Fuck you!" He yanked out the gun, aimed, and fired; all at such as speed he seemed like a gun slinger.

The bullet seemed to travel a long way, but in reality only had a small distance to travel. It spun in its flight, causing the air to bend as the end pierced through the air. Raven didn't have much time to react, but she didn't need to, even though she did. She raised her palm to stop the bullet with her magic, but Nexus had already brought his right hand up. He caught it in a fist, and suddenly he ran at the blond-haired man. He didn't have another chance to fire. In a blink his gun had been yanked from his hand. Nexus dropped it to the floor and stamped on it, breaking the pistol into many separate fragments, both sharp and blunt, like shattered glass. Next he brought the bullet he'd somehow caught in between his index finger and thumb, and began pressing it into the large blond-haired man's forehead.

"Right now I could insert this bullet manually if I wanted to." Nexus smirked cockily; while the blond-haired man was visibly shaking so much, it seemed like he was vibrate apart.

Raven lowered her hand, and kept watching the scene, checking to see what Nexus' next action would be.

"Leave!" Nexus told the blond-haired man calmly. "Lock the door on your way out."

"S-s-s-s-uuure..." The nervous challenger stumbled out.

The man took a few steps backwards, making each slow and stepping gently to make sure the ice beneath his feet didn't suddenly give way. In an abrupt move he spun around and ran out the cage, once again shoving past Raven and running out of the door to the room and slamming it shut. A sound from the keyhole signified it was again locked.

"I still need to leave you know?" Raven mentioned coldly, turning her gaze from the door to Nexus' eyes.

"That's not my problem is it?"

Nexus turned back around and drew in another deep breath, preparing for his strange little ritual for the third and final time, totally blanking Raven from all his senses, much to the chagrin of the sorceress. Another deep breath; he raised his arms to his chest and pushed them forward through the air, as if there was some sort of barrier he was forcing out of the way.

"You can watch it you like." He told Raven coolly, though not giving any kind of hint that was a rude comment.

"Thanks, no." Raven answered icily. "I need to be going."

"I didn't get your name." Nexus said absently.

"Raven..." She sighed.

"Of the Teen Titans... I guess I should've known. You guys are pretty famous in..."

He turned to see her, but she was gone, apparently vanished without a trace. She was gone. He was alone once again. Calm. Peace. Serenity... yet at the same time he felt lonely, and he was certainly not at peace nor serenity... He was full of fear, a fear that he hated. Why did he have to this damned incessant fear wherever he went? Oh yeah, his past... His _home_. That god-forsaken place where a people always considered him a freak. He'd tried everything to alleviate the fear over the years: fighting back, ignorance, meditation, exercises in fighting techniques, releasing the rage, none of it worked, so it was better to live with it. When fighting, the fear acted as an extra fuel tank. When in a fight, that fear would keep him fighting. It didn't help the fear though, but amplified it during the fight. Anyone here could hurt him... anyone!

So it's better to keep everyone at arm's length, and stay safe. No pain... No physical pain anyway. He had to find him, show her he was okay, and make everything okay for her again. She was his only concern... No, there was another that was on his mind, though for a different reason. He longed to meet her again, needed to see her again, just to see her... She made him feel... loved.

* * *

"So he's fighting in an underground fight club?"

"Yeah, and he took down the regulars like they were nothing."

Raven was relaying to Robin what she had seen but five minutes ago. They were in the main room with the crescent moon couch, both sat on it, Robin on the left and Raven on the right, in the centre of it. Robin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, trying to make heads and tails of this kid. Nexus, certainly not a regular name, so he guessed it was an alias. Red hair, pure red hair, definately not normal. This Nexus guy was certainly not from around here.

"What do you think?" Raven asked plainly.

"We can't trust him, at least not entirely."

"Look, he has good intentions, but Beast Boy's right... He fears everyone, and that makes him dangerous." Robin looked at her through his mask, the fabric over his face making his emotions hard to read. "At least, dangerous in some ways."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean; when I talked to him, he seemed to be afraid of everyone around him, so he may run if we try to confront him. He seems to have some sort of deep-rooted problem from his past."

"Perhaps that's why he seems fearful of everyone." Robin suggested. "Something from his past means he keeps everyone at arms length. He trusts no one."

"And threatens them with some sort of energy that's similiar to Starfire's."

"Wait... you don't think?" Robin thought about this as Raven considered.

"I don't think so. His powers are fairly similiar to Starfire's, but the two of them look too different, and let's face it, they act far too differently." Raven shot down that hint in flames. "He's just too reclusive to be related to Starfire."

"Point taken." Robin sighed hard, thinking about their next plan of attack. "So he's helped us, threatened Beast Boy and you on seperate days, and taken part in an illegal underground fight club. He is a bit of a mystery... Perhaps Starfire knows more than she is letting on."

"How so?" Raven asked, confusing edging around her voice.

"She said she found nothing in the desert, then hinted that she might know this person but found nothing. She might actually know him after all." Robin once again rubbed his chin, deep in thought like the detective he was.

"Are you suggesting we break into her personal database?" Raven quipped, finding the idea just a little unnerving.

"No, I'm suggesting that we badger her to talk. We need to know how this Nexus guy is and why he seems determine to threaten everyone who comes near him."

"Tommorow morning then?" Raven asked calmly.

"Tommorow."

Tommorow they would find out just what Starfire was hiding.


	4. Hello Lonely

_Author Notes: Apologies for taking a while to update, but college work/exams revision is currently bogging me down, so I've been struggling to find time to work on anything like fanfiction or art. (yes, I do art too, mainly fanart)._

_Anyway, enjoy this chapter, and reviews are appreciated as always._

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Hello Lonely**

Beast Boy was sat in on the semi-circular couch in the main room of the tower. Starfire was busy cooking breakfast for all of them, holding a bowl close to her chest and mixing zorka berries with assorted herbs with a wooden spoon, and the other three still weren't up. He was staring at the television screen, which was just blank. He imagined it was a window into his head this early morning, seven in the morning to be precise, where he could watch his thoughts; and his thoughts were one huge mess. It was the day after he'd kissed Terra for the first time, and he had barely stopped thinking about her since. What was she going to say to him next time they met? She had to decide what kind of relationship they should have now. Romantic? Friendly? Acquaintances? Non-existent? The last option seemed to be the most likely one she'd choose, and that scared him. Still, maybe it was for the best... if he could move on from Terra, he could get on with his life. He'd more or less moved on before she came back. Yes, he still visited her statue to talk to her, but he accepted that no cure could be found. Now she was back though, his whole mentality had gone haywire. He promised himself that today, he would act normally. Even if it was just for today, he would forget about Terra, live his normal daily routine of eating, watching television, playing video games, and busting a few bad guys heads. After that, things would get easier.

Did he really want to forget Terra? The answer was two-fold: no, and how could he? He didn't want to forget Terra because he cared about her so much. He questioned now if it was just love or something else, but he knew that he could not forget Terra, at least not totally, at least not until things had been resolved between them.

"Friend?" Starfire's voice asked.

Beast boy turned his head and smiled at Starfire.

"Yeah?"

"You appear to have much on your mind. Perhaps you wish to discuss it."

"Well, if you discuss your problems with me."

Starfire hesitated suddenly.

"Star?" Beast Boy asked.

"Oh, erm..."

"Star." That was Robin's voice. Starfire turned her head, as did Beast boy. He walked to the counter and stared at Starfire. "I need to talk to you."

"Of course friend Robin." She answered courteously, grateful for the distraction from beast boy. "What do you wish to discuss."

"Nexus!"

Starfire dropped the bowl and gasped. The zorka berries rolled out from the plastic bowl, and rolled all around the kitchen area. Robin knew know that Starfire knew something, much more than she was letting on.

"I... do not know a Nexus," she began, trying to mask her sudden worry, "unless you are referring to-"

"I'm referring to the person, the red-haired kid that's been turning up all around the city." Robin told her sternly. "You know something about him, and I need you to tell me!"

"I... cannot..." Starfire said meekly, hanging her head in shame. She also closed her eyes so she couldn't see Robin's face.

Neither noticed that Beast Boy was paying the conversation no mind. Beast Boy, in all honesty, did not care all too much about this red-haired kid that had threatened him. Despite the threat, he hadn't given him much thought. His mind had focused so much on Terra that this _Nexus _was just an afterthought. He knew he should care more because he could be a danger to his friends, but he didn't. He didn't care because he didn't care about his friends, but because this issue seemed so small to his own issues. He knew what he was doing, he was being selfish, but that enchanting geomancer; Terra, had him held hostage. His mind constantly drifted to the blond beauty. He had to resolve things with her, today!

He stood up from the couch and walked past Robin and Starfire, who both took no real notice of the green changeling.

Starfire opened her eyes slightly, and began walking to the door out of the room.

"If you will excuse me." She left through the door, leaving Robin alone to ponder just why Starfire was so secretive about Nexus.

There were many possibilities, too many for him to fathom just now, because he was shocked by Starfire. Nether before had she been so closed off about something. His eyes just stared after her, long after she was gone from his view. Why was she protecting someone who could be a threat? The answer was obvious, she knew him, but how? And why was she so set on keeping this secret from the team.

Beast Boy meanwhile had already left the tower and flown across the bay, and landed inside Jump City. He was walking to the school. They had to resolve things, whatever the outcome. He had to discover what Terra wanted, even if it meant he could never see her again. This was about her, and what she wanted. He remembered how he thought that this had to be love; but what if it was something else? What if everything he was feeling for Terra was just because they had never officially broken up? What would Terra think. She had wanted the kiss too, that much had been clear, but what if she was simply feeling these things for the same reasons he was, because they never broke up... well, they never actually got hooked up, and that kiss had hardly changed things. At the end of the kiss, Terra was trying to hide herself.

He realised something then, as he walked down the clear streets, bereft of all but a few people. He was beginning to obsess over Terra, and that wasn't a good thing. He had to clear his head of her at least somewhat. What was he supposed to do though? He was going to see Terra, and ever since the first day she had returned, and he'd seen her on the pavement, staring at the battle in her school uniform, she had barely been off his mind. It seemed like every time they met, Terra could put him under a spell and then taunt him by staying just out of reach.

Love? Or some unseen enchantment?

How did she feel? His mind flitted over what Terra could decide. Three possibilities came out. They nether see each other again, they can stay friends but not get into anything, or they try to make it work. What would she decide?

"Hey, Beast Boy!" A very familiar voice called.

A blond girl ran up beside and started walking with him. Terra seemed to be rather cheery. Would she be so cheery in a minute?

"You're out rather early." Beast Boy noticed. Indeed she was. She was carrying her books, and wearing her school outfit. "It's only about half seven in the morning you know?"

"I know. Sometimes I like a bit of a morning stroll. So what are you doing out so early?"

"Looking for you." He noticed Terra's face drop slightly. "We need to talk about... us."

"... Yeah..." Terra said solemnly, knowing the time was now. She looked down to the pavement, her element, and played with the possibility that just maybe... she closed her eyes. "I've been thinking about how you said I could decide where we go from here."

"And... what have you decided." Beast Boy asked, rather bravely actually considering the likely answer.

"I..." Truthfully, she hadn't decided yet. Terra was still thinking about it.

What should she do. She'd been trying to avoid her past, yet it always came back and bit her in the ass. Perhaps it was time to face it? Maybe? At least some what... No, she had to do what was best for the world, not for her.  
"BB; I... we can't be together. We both know that." She sensed that Beast Boy's expression crashed and his ears probably dropped to the lowest they've ever been. "The kiss yesterday was; for old times sake. We have to move on."

She looked at Beast Boy's extremely disappointed face.

"Okay Terra..." He gave a small and meek smile, showing his begrudging acceptance. "I might not like it, but I'll accept it... While I'm saying this, sorry for putting you through all that. I can only imagine the kind of ridicule you've gotten off your school chums."

"And don't you forget it." Terra said in a joking tone, making Beast boy chuckle too, though they both became sombre again. "Thanks for being so kind to me. Despite what's happening now, and that we're moving on, I'll never forget you."

Beast Boy stopped walking and let her continue. She had her walk, he had to leave. Simple as that. She turned around as she walked, and began walking backwards down the street. She gave a small smile and one final, tiny wave, before turning back around and walking away, turning a corner and disappearing, much like a phantom. Despite what it all represented, the image was most pleasant to his eyes. Now he could move on with his life, away from the heavenly attention of the resurrected blond angel. Things had been resolved. He was free, so to speak. Free of Terra.

Yeah right! Like it would be that simple.

"Come on Gar, get some sense into your thick skull. She just made it clear as day!"

Clear as day... but hesitant and abrupt. So perhaps-

Suddenly, he noticed someone walking in front of him, coming from the direction of the corner Terra had just turned around. It was that red-haired kid! He hadn't gotten his name just yet, but he was there, walking with his eyes closed and head hung slightly low, carrying... a loaf of bread and a bottle of water...

He'd been shopping?

Despite everything, he had the nerve to casually walk into the city and go shopping for food and drink? Suddenly he noticed the kid's eyes open, and glance at him, though he didn't turn his head. There were those intense eyes again, that deep brown with the hint of fiery red. The eyes closed, and he kept strolling casually along, passing by and disappearing down the opposite corner. The Titan in him told him _'report this to the others NOW!' _The other part of him however told him something that was much stronger, and much more convincing. _'Check he didn't hurt Terra! Do it! Do it NOW!'_ With that compulsion, his legs moved and he ran, one in front of the other, then repeat. Keep doing that. He rounded the corner, but she was gone, probably having turned around a second corner already. Gone... in more ways than one.

* * *

He walked back to his home, his right arm wrapped around the bread and his left hand holding the bottle of water. He preferred walking sometimes. Had to keep fit. He was out of the city now, walking away from the outskirts, eventually coming to a small rocky outcrop that acted as a marker point for the road ahead. The rocky outcrop marked the beginning where dark rocks dominated, and caves could be found in abundance, though many where only large enough for the small rats and mice that kept him company. He liked this place sometimes... it was quiet, peaceful, lonely, and other times he hated it. Overall though, no matter how much he hated it, this place was much better than his first home. He glanced upwards, seeing his cave home, and a tall, slender girl standing at the entrance, looking at him with seriousness, but no harshness. His expression brightened up, almost as much as the sun above him, and he had to resist the urge to run up to her and hug her.

Starfire.

She'd waited only a few minutes for him, but here he was; Nexus had arrived. She noticed his expression brighten, but kept hers serious. She had to talk to him. After a moment he reached her, standing only a ten inches apart from her.

"Star; what brings you here?"

"We must talk!" Starfire surprised even herself with how firm she was. She'd surprised Nexus as well, because he'd dropped his loaf of bread and water. "You have been competing in illegal fight clubs! Why?"

His expression grew sad, almost ashamed; but not quite.

"I need the money."

"If you require money, then why not get a job?" Starfire suggested, her tone now full of concern.

Nexus chuckled sarcastically.

"Starfire..." He gave her a soft smile. "After all that's happened so far, who in the city would want to employ me?" He walked slightly closer to her, so they stood barely an inch apart. His eyes stared into her with an apologetic glint. "I need the money for food and water. I can't live off desert rocks you know?"

Starfire's serious face softened at the joke, forming into a smile. She had an idea.

"I could bring you food and drink from the tower!" She said in a near enthusiastic yell, grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him. "Then you would not have to compete in illegal underground fights and risk injury."

"You'd do that for me?" Nexus asked hopefully. "But won't your friends get suspicious?"

"They are already very suspicious." Starfire told him, her eyes glancing down to her feet. "If you would meet them, then you would see they are not going to harm you."

Nexus gently took told of Starfire's hands, which were still on his shoulders, and solemnly pulled them away, putting them back into their proper position next to Starfire's sides.

"You know I can't Star." He said softly, hints of fear entering his voice. "You know my problem."

"They would not hurt you." Starfire looked back into his eyes, though she still had to look down slightly because of her height compared to his. He was after all only very slightly taller than Raven. "You can trust me."

"Yeah, I can trust you; but not them! I've had too many people hurt me to trust anyone." Nexus clenched his eyes shut, trying to blot out all the anguish of his past.

"But you trust me... is that not enough?" Starfire asked him hopefully.

He opened his eyes again, looking into Starfire's eyes.

"Maybe... maybe eventually; but not now. I'm not even staying that long; remember?"

"At least visit." Starfire pleaded. "If you meet them just once..."

"... Starfire, I... I'll try, but I can't promise much. They don't trust me, let alone me not trusting them."

"Shall I talk to them?" Starfire asked, trying to bring Nexus out his self-imposed shell.

"... Give me some time to think about it. I'll tell you tonight."

"Glorious!" She clapped her hands enthusiastically, already thinking the answer was a certainty, and suddenly grabbed Nexus into a bone crunching hug.

Despite all Starfire's alien strength, he seemed more or less unaffected and hugged back as hard as he could, seeking companionship in the only one he could.

* * *

Terra's answer had been abrupt and hesitant... unsure... and she knew it herself.

It was exam time in the classroom, the room all but silent but for the footsteps of the wary eyed male teacher and sinister looking glasses that reflected light just a little too much, and the scratching of pens to paper. '_Question Four: Which atom has one electron?' Easy; Hydrogen!_ She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but when her pen came down, she found herself writing a 'B' instead of an 'H'. _Gah! _She crossed it out and quickly wrote Hydrogen. Her mind kept clawing to get at that little green shape-shifter, but she squinted her eyes and focused on the page, on the next question. _'Question Five: Why the hell am I doing this?' No! 'Question Five: Is that you final answer?' NO! Er... not 'that' no. _

It was plainly obvious that she could barely concentrate. If she couldn't even read the correct question, then things were not resolved as she had hoped. She'd hoed that telling Beast boy that they couldn't see each other again would be the end of it. They had, officially broken up! Yet he stayed with her. Always he was at the back of her mind, like some sort of parasite. She knew that she liked him; she liked him a lot. That tight fitting suit of his accentuating his developing muscles, small but perfect. Oh, and let's not forget the rear... or the front. Oh the things she wanted to do to that lovely face of his. Next she'd tear open the front of his uniform, and move down lower, to his chest, kissing it all over and sending him into cross-eyed mode. She could just imagine him moaning out her name. She pull off that suit, leaving him in nothing but his boxers, or briefs, or whatever he wore down there. Hey, maybe he wore nothing under that uniform of his. Finally, the ultimate ple-

"Tara!"

"Hmmm..." She let out through closed lips

"You have an exam to finish"

"Oh... er, right, sorry Mr. Snowdon... sorry." She giggled nervously and went back to the exam paper, ignoring the knowing glances from her classmates.

_Stupid teacher! _That had been the teacher in his grey suit and sinister glasses. She hadn't realised until he'd brought her out of her little daze, but she'd been daydreaming about making love to him. _I shouldn't even be thinking about that! I'm not even supposed to know him! But I do know him... better than most people do..._ Sometimes she just wished she could crack open her skull like she could an egg, and tear out her brain, and live the rest of her _life_ as a zombie. At least then she wouldn't think about Beast Boy anymore, except maybe in eating his brains. She gave a long sigh, and leant her head onto her left hand, already bored once gain with the paper; however, she kept her eyes fixed on it, attempting to work out question five. The annoying little bugger of question five! _Damn you question five! _Terra mentally spat at the ink on the paper. It had so many big words in it it would send even Cyborg's mind into overload. Quite a contrast to question four. It hit her that she wanted to fantasise about Garfield again... but she shouldn't. She couldn't. Well maybe... no!

Was he experiencing the same problems she was? This had to be just withdrawal symptoms. Had to be. Beast boy had always been their for her, the last person she'd seen before he she was a statue. They had an unspoken bond, verging on romantic. Mere friends do not think about people like this constantly. She knew the answer, this was some sort of animal attraction to him - no pun intended - perhaps even... crossing the borderline into love? No, she couldn't have fallen that far. _Give it a few days, and he'll be out of you system._ Right now she wished she could just drown herself in the music she enjoyed, not only to get her mind off Beast Boy, but to avoid this frustrating question five! _Damn you question five! _Suddenly it clicked... She practically slammed the point of her pen onto the paper and began writing very slowly, just to be sure not to get the answer wrong.

The answer is:

_I...want... to..._

She stopped herself before she wrote anymore of that sentence. She crossed it out frantically, trying to get her brain to avoid whatever it was attempting to write. Quickly, she wrote down the proper answer and moved on to question six.

She had to be going insane! Obsessing over a scrawny green superhero. All this indecision and weird answer writing over one boy?

Give it a few days, and he'll be out of the system. Just a few days...

Later in the day, the end of school thankfully, she walked out of the gates, met her friends, went past the pizza parlour, got home, and went to her room. She flopped onto the bed, laying on her, arms, legs and long blonde hair sprawled out all over it.

... That's not right!

Beast Boy hadn't met her once, not interrupted her. It had become a sort of her ritual, a part of life, and now it was suddenly over. _Well, if he can do it, then so can I. I owe it to them! _

Her personal phone rang. She clicked open the small, silver, pocket sized phone, and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Terra?" A male voice asked. She was hoping it was Beast Boy deep down, but it wasn't him. She couldn't gage the accent or anything else from that one word.

"Who is this?" She sat up, with a look of concern and confusion on her face. Only the Titans and a few villains should know that name. Abruptly she realised that she should've replied 'No, I'm Tara Markov.' Stupidly, she hadn't. Better go with the flow. "Well?" She asked in a harsh tone.

"So it is you." The voice from the phone said calmly. "I knew you were alive!"

"Who are you?" Terra asked again, much harsher in tone and raising her voice. "What do you want?"

"I'm just someone who requires your... rather unique talents."

"Whatever it is, not interested! Don't call again!" She was about to close her phone and seal away that voice forever.

"Wait!" The voice called. She didn't know what compelled her, but she put the phone back to her ear. "All we need you to do, is go into the desert nearby you city, and find someone. The red-haired kid you've seen on TV."

Terra chuckled automatically, letting her seething sarcasm show through.

"As I've said, not interested. I don't _do_ rock moving anymore!"

This time she did click the phone shut. Straight away! Hopefully that person would not be bothering her again. She didn't care about that red-haired kid, it was none of her business. With the way he'd been acting, she doubted Beast boy cared either. If anything half the city didn't seem to care. They just got on with their normal, everyday lives.

Normal, everyday life... that's what she had now, more or less. She liked normal, she revelled in it. Normal was... well, normal. Dull, boring, school... Despite everything she liked about normal, there were many times eh found herself yearning for the past. Things had changed though... but as the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Who was that guy though?

* * *

Beast Boy and Cyborg were busy battling it out on _Fighting Robots Four_, both sat on the couch, crouched forward slightly, and they were both completely entranced by the huge screen battle in front of them, as if they were weren't controlling the characters.

"You haven't been out today BB." Cyborg suddenly quipped. "Problems?"

"Not really..." Beast Boy snapped back mildly. "Just got things sorted out today."

"Really? Booyah!" Cyborg had defeated Beast boy at the game. He sat up straight up and threw his hands up into the air, then brought them back down. "Did you work out things with Terra?"

"Yeah..." Beast Boy let the controlling slip out of his hand. It bounced on the floor a couple of times, like a bouncy ball. He knew Cyborg would be irritated by that, but he didn't care. "It's all taken care off."

"So why are you so despondent? Can't of been a decision you liked!"

"... It's for the best."

"Best for her more like." The large half-man noted. The other Titans had come to believe Beast Boy and his story about Terra, because they had seen her in the school. However, they remained distant from her, each sensing why she had decided to join the school

"If it's what she wants..." The green changeling looked down to the floor beneath him. "I can't force a life that she doesn't want." He sat up straight and looked at Cyborg. "She said that we shouldn't see each other again, so that's what I'm going to do.

"You're going to stay inside the tower for the rest of you life?" Cyborg asked rhetorically, letting his disapproval of Beast boy's actions be know loud and clear. "Come on BB, what makes you think staying inside the tower will do any good. All you'll do is brood. Go out there and do something!"

That would be tough. Who knows where he might see Terra again. In a city this _small_... well, who knows how long you could stay hidden. He squirmed slightly, trying to dispel his discomfort. No luck, all it did was displace his uniform. And make uncomfortable in another way.

"I know your right Cy, but what if I see her again?

"So what if you do? You see her but you just, let's say, don't notice."

The green boy let out a mocking, sarcastic chuckle.

"Yeah, that'll be tough."

"The sooner you do something, the sooner you and Terra can get on with you lives." He patted Beast Boy's back once or twice, his cold metal hand seeming to provide some warm comfort for him. "I mean, if you become a hermit of the tower and brood about it for the rest of your life, what's going to happen?"

What would happen? Maybe he'd become a cannibal and eat the little vermin that scurried around the tower every night; as unlikely as that seemed. Maybe something else would happen... maybe he'd just disappear, become old and bald, like how he was in Starfire's little trip to the future. For a brief moment he felt like moving his hands to his hair in a vain attempt to protect it. He resisted the urge, because Cyborg would no doubt make some joke at it. He was right though. He had to get out there and do something; anything; anything to get his mind off that blond angel that haunted him. What though? What could he do? Eating certainly wouldn't help, especially not at that pizza place. Maybe... well, maybe... perhaps... yeah, stuff like that.

"Tell you what Cy; me and you will go out to the arcade tomorrow, then we'll go hunting for a new game." He put on a cheesy grin, trying to convince Cyborg, which he knew would work.

"There you go!" Cyborg snapped heartily, giving the green changeling a much bigger pat on the back, making him lurch forward and choke for a second from getting winded. "I know the perfect game we can get."

"It's a date!" Beast Boy joked, his usual clown-like demeanour apparently returning.

Cyborg could tell Beast Boy was slowly returning to his normal self. The though crossed his mind that maybe it was just a blanket to hide his true feelings, and maybe it was to some extent, but he knew that Beast boy had to get Terra off his mind, at least for a little while. In the days since he'd first seen schoolgirl Terra, he'd changed. He'd been less like Beast Boy and more like a depressed hermit around the tower. No matter how things turned out for him, the green changeling had to get the blond geomancer off his mind for a short time, concentrate on the more fun things in life. Not that Terra wasn't fun in her own rights, but at the moment she was hurting Beast Boy, if not intentionally. Something told him though, that this thing between beast boy and Terra wasn't going to end; it was going to grow somehow, change, and blossom into something more. If the way those two were interacting now was any indication, and add that to before Terra was turned to stone, then this was something beyond a mere crush.

This was going to grow.

* * *

Evening now, and Nexus was once again out in the desert, standing on a rocky outcropping that looked out to the city.

He'd spent the entire day, trying to decide... Starfire's offer. He'd had no idea why he'd agreed even to... well, consider Starfire's offer. If it was anyone else, he'd refuse outright, and refuse again and again and again until his throat became rough from the shouting and desert dust. This was Starfire though... Starfire was just that one person who could persuade him otherwise... on rare occasions he hated that, but most of the time, he was extremely grateful.

What about it? The Titans didn't seem half bad, no one here did... but this was him, this was how he'd grown and evolved out of his _home_.

"They seem okay... I mean... No, they could be just like them... but Starfire isn't, and I trust her." Only Starfire with her sweet and kindly ways could do this to him. "Boy Star, you always know just how to get to me"

There was a quiet roar from overhead, almost like an engine, but when he looked up, there was nothing up in the evening sky, with it's faint black signalling the onset of night. No fighters, no nothing, and he knew it couldn't be him because he was down on Earth. Maybe it was nothing, yeah, probably just his imagination. His gaze went back to the city before him, the city he'd protected and threatened in equal measure up to this point. Was there really any point? He'd be leaving again soon, yet he'd helped the city and the Titans on multiple occasions. Not because he was after joining, no, he still didn't trust them. Then again, in his time here, he hadn't let anyone close to him, because he knew what they could potentially do... The Titans though, they seemed different, the people in general seemed different to what he'd traditionally known from his past.

"Damn you Starfire..." He said sarcastically, knowing it was actually more of a 'thank you.'

He was about to leave for... wait, something was wrong. He turned about and looked around the desert that was formally behind him, slowly scanning the ground with his brown eyes. Someone was watching him, he could sense them, practically smell them. He caught him with his radar-like eyes, or rather a glimpse, the small rounded like shape quickly ducked down to hide. There were more, three more. Four of them! Who were they? He heard a stone move from his left, he eyes shot that they, though his head didn't move. He tightened his fists, ready to unsheathe them at a moments notice.

A clicking sound... another... another... and another...

Wait...

Four men in desert camouflage popped out from the rocks like whack-a-moles; dotted about in front of him. Ten foot away, forming a weak semi-circle, each of them at his level, and each pointing his gun directly at Nexus. He would've taken a step back, but one step backwards and he'd lose he footing. Okay, assess the situation: four men, each pointing what looks like big ass guns at you, assault rifles from the look of it.

"Don't move freak!" One of them called. "We got you covered!"

Nexus brought his right hand up to the side of his face slowly, dragging it up to increase the tension, though in reality his deep-rooted fear was already hitting him like a brick wall he was crashing into. As usual, he hid it, feeding off it in order to be effective in this battle. He hid it well, smirking, and opening up his hand. From the view of the gunmen, behind his hand a blue glow was suddenly illuminating the palm. Nexus was showing them the back of his hand.

"Whoops..." The red-haired alien told them mockingly. "I moved..."

Perfect! They were mesmerised.

He spun his hand so his palm and thrust his right arm out, pushing it towards the gunmen two at his front. Floating just in front of his palm was a ball of glowing light blue light. He fired it, and two seconds later, that area exploded in a massive eruption of desert dust and rock. The two remaining gunmen on nexus' left and right immediately opened fire, spraying him with bullets. The only problem was they all missed, spinning through the air and hitting rock, ground or falling feebly out of the air. The gunmen on Nexus' left looked around, finding Nexus standing three feet from where he was. He quickly aimed his gun, but Nexus was suddenly gone, moving two feet to his right in a mere instant. The gunmen aimed again, only to find Nexus had once again darted at an impossible speed back to the left, about two and a half feet, and he was also right on top of the gunman, standing on top of the rock he'd been using for cover. One swift kick later and that gunman was out cold. Nexus spun and quickly fired another ball of glowing blue light from his left palm, causing the final gunman to disappear in a second explosion of dust and rock.

Someone was after him, and they didn't want to talk. Nexus quickly took to the skies, flying back to his cave to grab his only belongings. He grabbed his two swords, which were still sheathed in their gently curved scabbards, and tied them to his wait. The longer one was on his left side, and the shorter one tied to his right waist, as he was comfortable with. He quickly ran back out of the cave and took to the skies once again, flying so fast as to become that glowing light blue fireball he was associated with in the city. The whole city would see him; but until he got where he was going, that was fine. He had only one place he could go.

It looked like his decision had just been made for him.

Time to take Starfire up on her offer!


	5. Lace Me Up, Colour Me Red

_Author Notes: Chapter 5 ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoy. I really should be revising you know..._

_Oh, and on an unrealted not to the above, currently, my home computer will not let me on to as in not load the page, so I'm having to load this on to the college computer. Apologies, but I can only wait till this problem sorts itslef out. (damn talktalk).If I can't upload anything soon, you'll know why._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Lace Me Up, Colour Me Red**

He was flying over Jump City, only the street lights below barely illuminating the night; his flight silent and lonely, carrying the lone possessions of his two swords, which were tied to his waist via his belt. The air was still tonight, but flying through the air still made his hair fan, his clothes shudder… his mind lost itself in thought.

As Nexus thought to himself, one question came to mind: should he really be doing this? Should he really go to the tower to seek sanctuary? Only Starfire trusted him so would they even grant it? Maybe… but as was always his problem, he was extremely uncomfortable around people. Well, almost all people. There were a select few, a _very _select few, who he trusted; but he seldom saw any of them. Everyone else was a threat to him, he feared them like a mouse would a salivating cat. They were a threat… keep all of them at a distance. He damned his past to hell for making him like this: overly-cautious, fearful of almost everyone he saw, over-protective of those he cared for, though the last one could also be considered a good trait.

His past was a burden. There were times when he wished he could go back and alter his past, make it better for him, and then he knew that thinking like that would do no good. This was now, and it would do best to make the most of the here and now. Perhaps… perhaps going to the tower would do some good for his problems. Meeting Starfire's friends would be beneficial for him. Nexus gave a long and hard sigh as his brain strained at the cracks, making his skull move and mould around it. It helped. He effectively told his brain to shut up, and let this situation play out. Above all else, the overriding urge was to be near Starfire; she offered a protection that only someone close could. Even should her friends be untrustworthy, Starfire was someone he could trust; he knew this, so the tower would be a safe haven… and perhaps a place for driving away his fear… maybe.

What ifs, maybes, playing out all the different possibilities and circumstances in his head, he thought like this when he was calm, but during-

An explosion from down below, from within the city. Nexus was flying high above rooftops, about forty feet above the highest roof. The explosion itself was small actually, contained within a single building. If anything, all it did was blow away the glass from one large building. Nexus ceased in his flight, rotating his body upright and hovering above the street below. The building itself was a medium sized skyscraper, with the front doors at ground level made primarily of glass; or at least they were until the tiny explosion from inside the building. Looks like he'd be fighting tonight. At least during fights his only thought was to fight, driven by the fear and anger that cursed him during his calmer periods. They became a blessing, and they worked. Again, his past was to blame... but now wasn't the time for the past; it was time for the now. But of all times this had to be now, and he had to be in _just _the right spot to be able to stop this. But the Titans would be along soon… but he had to. It was a strange, basic instinct; almost animal like, and it arose, and it always drove him to do this. To help those in danger… another cursed memory of his past.

_The past shapes the future._ This was but one philosophy he held, because it was true for him.

He hovered down slowly, always keeping his eyes fixed upon the doors of the building in case the criminals, whoever they may be, would suddenly burst out and run; so he would have to immediately increase speed and give chase. After a moment, as he continued to lower himself down to the ground, nothing happened; and Nexus made it to ground level. He stared into the darkness of the building. With only dim street light illumination, he could see barely three inches inside the building. All other lights were off. It was late at night now; he had been flying very slowly after reaching the outskirts of the city, as if fending off the inevitable arrival at the tower. _No, do not think about the tower. Concentrate on the now!_ Another moment passed, and there was no activity from the black. Whatever the one or group of criminals were doing in this building was taking a while… Nexus noticed this building, just barely through the night, was labelled as 'Bank of Jump City.'

"Typical!" Nexus mouthed off to himself.

There was a sudden movement from the black, and five figures began to emerge from the darkness. At the moment they were but silhouettes, but visible to his eyes. The one on the far left was huge, muscled; standing a clear six feet plus, and carrying two huge sacks Nexus could only guess were filled with money. The next was shorter, fairly thin. In the centre was the shortest of all of them; carrying a backpack on his back. The next was one taller than him, by about maybe an inch or two, and draped in a cloak, almost looking like a humanoid bat. The final one appeared to be a regular build of a teenager, and with a mechanical band wrapped around his eyes. The group of five emerged.

"Who the hell is this snot-muncher!" The shortest one spat as soon as he saw Nexus standing about a foot away from the bank doors, in what he saw as a three-quarter view.

"I think this is that new guy mates…" The second on the left guy said in a strong Australian accent. He was in a red one-piece suit.

"Let me crush him!" The biggest of the five growled.

The one that looked bat-like simply stared with his red eyes at Nexus, in an eerie calm.

"In a moment. What's your name?" The one with the mechanical band over his eyes said, looking like a cyclops.

"Nexus… And you would be?" He asked calmly.

"Gizmo." He banged a fist onto his tiny chest proudly.

"Mammoth!" He growled.

"Seemore." He stated calmly.

"Billy Numerous." He stated in his strong Australian scent.

"…"

"… and the silent one is Kid Wykkyd." Seemore finished. "He doesn't talk."

"And together we are…" Billy Numerous began, and suddenly each one of them struck a different pose; each more absurd than the last, though they remained in formation. Mammoth was bent over, his back turned to Nexus so his arse was up in the air. Billy was in a garbage-like martial arts pose, arms held high and balancing on one foot. Seemore was in a star position, and Gizmo was in a sort of "come to the greatest show on earth" carnival pose.

"The Hive Five!" They all said together, bar Kid Wykkyd, who just stood still and stared continuously as if he had no soul to speak of.

_Well… that was… pointless… to say the least. _Now Kid Wykkyd, Nexus had some measure of respect for, but whomever thought up that pathetic introduction routine should be shot, hanged, and fed to the lions… and not necessarily in that order. The four that had struck poses once again stood upright. The whole exercise seemed oddly familiar… the name "Ginyu Force" came to mind, but that was all his mind could muster from the scene. Nexus hadn't really realised how long he'd been staring at the group; wide-eyed and speechless, and _barely_ struggling to hold back a stupid chuckle. Lucky for him he didn't laugh much, so he didn't really have to struggle… still though, if he was anyone else...

The Hive Five, bar Wykkyd, who kept his strange demonic stare Nexus, all looked mystified at what they had just done, as if some sort of supernatural force had taken hold of them.

"Why did we just do that?" Billy Numerous asked, obviously as perplexed as Nexus was.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Mammoth answer dumbly.

"Well let's not just stand here!" Gizmo screamed in his fairly high pitched voice. "Get the crud-snotting-cruncher!" his right index finger pointed to Nexus.

Seemore's eye quickly switched to the yellow colour and fired its unique beam at Nexus. It all happened so fast that the only thing Nexus could do was cover himself up, putting his arms in front of him in an "x" position. The beam collided, and there was a small explosion, smoke blasting out from where Nexus used to be, creating a veil of grey particles.

"That's it?" Seemore asked perplexed; and then letting out a small chuckle. "I thought he'd be tougher."

The smoke began to clear, showing small parts white fabric, a brown belt, green chest straps. Nexus was alive. He swung his arms back down to his sides and stared calmly, his inner anger shown clear through his brown eyes.

"Make one wrong move – _please_ – and I'll take you all down, one by one." He told the Hive Five calmly but firmly.

"Oh yeah?" Gizmo sneered. "Enlighten us!"

Nexus raised his right hand. As if mesmerised by a hypnotists spell, the Five criminals simply stared... well, Kid Wykkyd has been doing nothing but, but they all stared at the hand of Nexus. A blast of blue energy erupted from it, forming into a beam and slamming into the ground just in front of the feet of the Hive Five. It stared at Mammoth's feet, and Nexus slowly moved his arm right, having the beam rupture the ground in front of each Hive member in turn, before reaching Seemore, and stopping the beam. Nexus lowered his arm slowly, and stared at each Hive member in turn.

"Consider yourselves enlightened."

"Hive Five: attack!" Gizmo yelled, pointing at Nexus to direct the others in the said direction.

Mammoth charged like a… well, like a mammoth; and in his enthusiasm cut off the firing lines of Seemore and Gizmo. Nexus made ready as the thunderous footsteps of the man-mountain Mammoth came at him. Closer and closer Mammoth came, very close now… until Nexus jumped. Mammoth noticed, but with his momentum combined with his sheer body mass, he could not stop, and continued on his train ride. Nexus meanwhile was above him after the jump. He'd rotated so that he was upside down, and he'd pointed his hands at Mammoth. With a sudden blast of blue light, Mammoth was knocked off his feet, flying forwards – away from Nexus and the other Hive members – and crashing into the building at the end of the street. Nexus landed on his feet and spun around, sending a quick glare to the other Hive members, before blasting at them with a blistering speed, flying low to the ground.

Four mechanical legs sprung from Gizmo's backpack, bringing him off his feet and putting him at a height of ten feet off the ground. Next, a pair of gattling cannons emerged from his backpack, swinging upwards and resting on each shoulder. They each opened fire, spraying bullets indiscriminately at the charging Nexus. Nexus stop flying forwards with an abrupt stop, spinning up dust beneath him, and blasted to left. Little did he know that someone was waiting for him. Billy Numerous; or ten of him, all piled onto the red-headed teen, pinning him to the ground and attempting to crush him beneath their combined weight.

"He's pretty fast, ain't he Billy?" One of the many Billy duplicates asked.

"Yep. Strong too." Another mentioned in the same strong Australian accent.

"Could probably make some nice fireworks with his light shows." A third said mockingly, as if Nexus wasn't underneath them listening to them.

But he was; he growled, and his power grew. With a blast of energy erupting from his body, each of the ten Billy's were blasted off him, flying in several different directions. Nexus was now stood upright, roaring into the sky with an aura of light blue energy swirling around him. He quickly stopped his roaring, and glared at Gizmo and Seemore. He pointed both his hands towards the two – putting his right behind his left – and another beam of blue light flew at the tiny mechanic and the cyclops. Seemore changed his eye to a blue colour and activated a shield orb with it, encasing himself and Gizmo inside it. Nexus' beam impacted the shield, but did not break it apart. It did, however, blast the encased duo backwards, crashing the orb into a second of the many skyscrapers that lived in the city. Nexus finished his beam and…

Wait…

Kid Wykkyd!

Unbeknownst to Nexus; the stealthy, bat-like child had teleported behind him. Nexus began to turn around, only to be hit in his right arm by a claw from Wykkyd. The claw-like hand slashed into the red-headed boy's upper right arm, leaving torn dulled-white cloth and four small but deep wounds, one for each finger, and each an inch long. Nexus yelped at the sudden blast to his pain receptors, grabbing his right arm in his left hand momentarily, only to realise he was still fighting, and swinging his right arm back around, and knocking Kid Wykkyd away, sending him left and most likely skidding along the floor.

Bullets began pinging along the floor, the trail moving towards Nexus' feet. Gizmo's guns. Nexus turned to face Gizmo, but was forced to jump into the air, or else the bullets would have turned him into Swiss cheese. Nexus brought himself to a height of ten feet above the ground; only for Gizmo to swap his four mechanical spider legs for a pair of mechanical bat wings. The wings were flapped, and an engine, situated in between the two wings, fired up; releasing jet how blue flames from its maw. Gizmo flew at Nexus; who turned about and flew away. Gizmo gave chase.

"Get back her you butt-guzzler!" The tiny mechanic yelled.

Nexus – while still flying away from Gizmo – rotated so that he was face up, as if on a bed, and pointed his hands in the direction of his feet, at Gizmo. A pair of blue energy balls fired from each one, each hitting one of Gizmo's wings. The tiny mechanic looked shell shocked for a split second, before plummeting back to Earth. Nexus flew back in the direction he came, and landed at the starting point of the little aerial dogfight. He heard footsteps again, thunderous ones… Mammoth. Before he could react, the man-mountain slammed into Nexus back and kept on charging, grabbing him with his huge arms; wrapping them around the red-headed boy's waist. Mammoth crashed them through the wall of a skyscraper, then through one of the inner walls, then another, and another; each time the wall shattering into many pieces of assorted sizes and shapes, and each time Nexus yelling his pain out of his throat. They crashed out of the other side, smashing through the final wall of the building, and Mammoth came to an abrupt halt. He began tightening his grip, attempting to crush Nexus' bones with his arms. Nexus yelled louder than before, his pain clearly evident in his voice and face. He began writhing about, trying to wriggle out of Mammoth's grip; to no avail. Mammoth chuckled evilly, knowing the end was near… He heard a snap.

That was until Nexus flexed and pushed with his arms; which had been tucked by his sides the entire time. He pushed them outwards against Mammoth's arms, and he felt Mammoth's grip loosen. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief, and pushed out his hardest yet, snapping Mammoth's fingers apart from each other. He dropped to his feet, and gave a spinning kick to Mammoth, sending him stumbling backwards, but not knocking him off his feet. Nexus jumped and pushed both legs outwards, slamming them into the man-mountain's chest. The red-headed boy landed back to his feet, watching Mammoth stumble backwards further, and then falling onto his, leaving a shallow crater where he fell. Dust and gravel erupted up from the impact of Mammoth's fall. Nexus tried moving his left arm only to yell in agony and grab it with his right hand, gripping it tightly, so tightly it caused even more pain; but this pain seemed to dull the other, more potent pain. He realised that Mammoth had succeeded in snapping at least some of his bones. He didn't know which, but he knew and saw that his left arm was hanging limply by his side. Useless!

He was being overpowered! Outnumbered and outgunned by the Hive Five, who only a few minutes ago – he didn't know exactly how long – had seemed to be nothing more than a bunch of clowns and half-baked potatoes for criminals. He sensed something. He let go of his left arm, putting his right hand into a fist, and spun around. He was just in time to see Kid Wykkyd teleport in. He saw anywhere around two dozen plus Billy Numerous duplicates join the bat-like child. He spun back around to see Mammoth back to his feet, flanked on his left by Gizmo, and on his right by Seemore. Surrounded! He should retreat; to Titans Tower or back to his cave; anywhere… but something made him stay. Maybe it was pride, maybe it was his past having its damnable influence again… or maybe it was just stupidity; but something made him stay and fight.

* * *

Inside Titans Tower, the five heroes were assembled around the computer, watching a scene unfold from camera eye view of a news helicopter. The view was zoomed out, and only silhouettes could be seen on the screen, despite the street lights; though only a few remained operational. Cyborg was also at the computer panel, typing away at an inhuman speed to try and get a better view of the situation.

"These images are brought to you _live_ from channel six news." The faceless reporter bellowed, since the camera was still on the scene below the helicopter, and still zoomed out, tantalising the TV viewers; especially the Titans. "This battle began at least ten minutes ago. The Hive Five have currently surrounded the red-headed boy that has been seen around the city for many days now.

Starfire cupped her hands over her mouth; failing to conceal her fearful gasp. Each Titan stared at the screen, each with a deep-rooted anxiety that they knew who this "red-headed boy" was. The camera zoomed in, showing the silhouettes now as more detailed small figurines. The camera kept on zooming, zooming, zooming further… until it got to its maximum zoom and stopped. Filling the screen was Nexus, his left arm dangling uselessly by his side, his right arm with four slices in it; from Kid Wykkyd, and his eyes darting all around him, trying in vain to keep track of the Hive Five members; and add that to the multiple Billy duplicates; it was an impossible task.

Before Robin could say "Titans; Go!" Starfire was away… Not out the door, but through the window, flying at a speed none of them had ever seen before. Raven followed after her, as did Beast Boy, changing into a green eagle to follow after the girls. Robin and Cyborg rushed for the garage and their vehicles.

They may not trust Nexus – save Starfire – but he was in danger; and their heroic impulse was to save him.

* * *

His fiery brown eyes kept scanning, and he kept spinning on the spot to keep his eyes on all of the Hive members in order to prevent them from attacking. It would only be so long though, only so long before they attacked. Nexus was basically dead. He could see it in all their eyes: each held a malice that spoke of a desire to kill. After all, kill the hero that's beaten other super-villains, and your status rises. Another spin, they multiple Billy duplicates, each chuckling and salivating like a pack of wolves. Nexus spins again, Seemore; glaring with his single eye and smiling viciously. Another spin, and there is Gizmo, once again held aloft by his mechanical spider legs, mumbling non-sensical insults at Nexus; and grinning like a kid with candy. Yet another spin, and there was Kid Wykkyd, a small but malevolent grin adorning his features. A final spin, and there was Mammoth, cracking his wrists and giving a toothy, evil grin.

His stomach churned, acid trying to burn through the lining of his food furnace. This pride of lions were stalking him; he was the antelope. They were waiting… Nexus spun again, and again, again, trying to keep his eyes fixated upon everyone around him… no such luck.

The pride pounced!

* * *

Unknown to the Titans, another was watching the television at the point, all the while suiting up for the night. The figure appeared to take little interest as the reporter blurted out the actions that were taking place as best as he could. The figure put on a green kimono, tied it to the form with lime green sashes, and put a pair of artificial claws, four on each, over each hand, sot he claws passed over the knuckles and the straps went around her wrists and the palms of the hand. Finally, a garish, grinning mask that would scare anyone who walked the streets alone at night.

* * *

The first to reach Nexus was Mammoth, who was the fastest of the group despite his size. He charged at him when his back was turned. Nexus spun about at blinding speed and landed a right fist directly to Mammoth's nose. The man-mountain stumbled backwards, warm red liquid coating his palms as he clutched his now incredibly sore nose. Gizmo and the Billy duplicates reached the stubborn red-head next. One of Gizmo's mechanical spider legs came up and stabbed down, attempting to impale Nexus on it. Nexus spun about from his encounter with Mammoth, and jumped backwards a few inches so as to avoid the sharp spike of Gizmo's spider leg. The leg buried itself in the ground, cracking the concrete like it was glass. A Billy duplicate jumped onto Nexus' back; but he grabbed the duplicate with his good right arm before it could get a proper hold onto him, and threw it over his head. While Gizmo struggle to remove his spider leg, Seemore fired a beam from his yellow eye plug-in. Nexus used his right arm to swat the beam into the sky, and quickly turned to his left to punch another Billy duplicate in the face. He turned on the spot again and gave a straight left kick to the gut of another Billy duplicate. Nexus back flipped backwards, and kicked Kid Wykkyd in the back of his head as he attempted to teleport behind Nexus and take him down in one swift strike. The red-headed teen landed back to his feet.

This was it though.

Two more duplicate grabbed Nexus by each arm, pulling them straight. With his broken left arm only adding to his pain, Nexus could not help but let loose a blood-curdling roar into the night. Two more duplicates took hold of his legs, laying flat on the floor. Gizmo, his spider legs now retracted, walked up to Nexus, flanked by Mammoth on his left, with Seemore and Kid Wykkyd on his right. The Billy duplicates assembled behind Nexus; bar the two holding him by his arms and the other two holding his legs; but all twenty of them were chuckling in their strong Australian.

"Well well crud-smuncher;" Gizmo mocked Nexus in his harsh tone, "you gave us quite a fight. Shame your crap at what you do!" Nexus spat on the floor in reply to that scathing comment. "Mammoth… crush him!"

Mammoth chuckled evilly, only too happy to oblige after being given a broken nose. He was grinning and cracking his left one way, then the other. Gizmo gave his own small chuckle, folding his arms over his chest in a sort of tough guy look. Meanwhile, the Billy duplicates, Seemore, and Kid Wykkyd all gave looks to each other; their smiles faded and their laughs dead. Mammoth closed the distance between himself and Nexus, and stared dead into his eye, the warm blood still trickling from his nostrils onto his lips, like some sort of tribal war paint. Mammoth drew back slightly, standing victorious over his trophy. This was going to be fun.

A huge right fist was swung through the air, flying through it like a missile. The missile exploded with perfect precision on its target. Mammoth's fist landed straight into Nexus' gut; and drew back after a few seconds. Nexus himself could do nothing except lurch forward, badly winded by the shot; with a couple of blood specs bursting from his mouth. Unable to collapse to his knees or hold his gut – as if either would help – he could lean forward, his arms held backwards by two of the Billy duplicates.

"Drop him." Gizmo told the four duplicates that were holding Nexus up. His voice was cold, full of malice and sheer enjoyment.

Each duplicate let go of their chosen limb, and let the red-headed teen drop to his knees. Nexus immediately moved good right his arm over his gut, holding it weakly for all the good it was doing. His eyes were clenched shut incredibly tightly. For all his powers, his martial arts, and his past forcing him on; he was helpless. Suddenly he received another attack to his face, a foot he though, and fell backwards onto his back. He laid there for a moment, breathing hard, and drawing in huge breaths in an attempt to get some oxygen back into him. He heard some words around and above him, though he didn't take much notice of them; the agony he was in seemed to drown him into an ocean where sounds were distorted. He managed to catch a few words: "… enoug-… We… wha-… -ame for!" But that was it.

A huge foot came on him; he heard it fly through the air as it came down on him, and landed onto his chest, crushing his torso underneath it; and winding him again. Not only did it wind him, but he was pressed into the concrete below, now resting in a shallow crater. And a mere second after the shoe came down; he threw up blood, warm and thick, all over his chest and the huge foot of, most likely, Mammoth. His head dropped back onto the concrete below. His eyes clenched shut as at least four new stabbing pains entered his chest, as if he was trying to contain the tears of sheer torturous agony; but more importantly, tears of fear. How many times had this happened to him before? He was clenching his eyes so tight the veins in them seemed to dance like the lights at a disco. The stabbing pains were piercing him from the inside, and only going deeper into him.

Everything went black then: he could still hear things, but not see them, or influence them in any way. He was limp. It was a strange kind of dream world he entered in times like this; a sort of half-unconscious world where parts of him shut down but others remained active. He heard next… many different things: words, slashes of air and metal onto skin, howls of pain, and thuds of bodies onto the ground. Then he felt something… he was moving! But not by himself. Someone was dragging him. Where? Hopefully, somewhere safe. After a moment, at least that's what he guessed it was; he felt himself put upright. He was still sat on the concrete, he could feel the cold and hardened tar beneath him, but he was sat upright, leant against a wall; which wasn't much warmer besides than what he was sat on. He had to open his eyes.

"_Open those damn eyes!"_

He knew that voice… He had to do it.

He clenched them shut as the full extent of the pain coursing through every system in his body returned, and opened them slowly. Next he felt the front of his white top warm and damp, no doubt from his own blood. His vision cleared from unshed tears, and staring at his face, barely an inch from his own… was… a mask… an Oni mask. He knew that mask.

"Cheshire…" He remembered, uttering the name weakly from his lack of strength.

The girl in the green kimono with its lime green sashes and garish mask kept staring. Clawed hands came up and quickly pulled the mask away. Looking at him with a worried and clearly concerned face – in a stark contrast to the mask she normally wore – was the face of a young Japanese teenager. Her eyes were a shade of dark brown, with long and shiny black hair that extended past her shoulders; though the shine was no where to be seen in the deep of night. Her facial features were soft, and her oriental colour skin seemed like a tan to him after all this time.

"How've you been Chesh?" Nexus asked in his weakened voice.

"I thought I told you never to call me that?" Cheshire answered with a faint smile, though her worry was still clearly evident. "What did those gaijins do to you?"

"Can't you tell?" Nexus joked, though fearful of chuckling in his current condition.

"Damn you Nexus!" She said softly, stroking his right cheek even more softly with her hand, careful not to scratch anywhere on him. "You'll get yourself killed one day."

The two of them heard shifting air overhead, too weak to be wind. Both of them looked to the night sky, and both of them could see, faintly, the form of a flying female, beginning to come in for a landing in the streets where the battle had raged. It hit Nexus that Cheshire had dragged them into a dark back alley. Just like her. The two of them looked at each other again.

"You'd better go; we don't want you getting caught." Nexus suggested softly.

"You'll be okay?" Cheshire asked, worried about leaving him in the hands of the Titans.

"Hey, it's me. Now get going before…" Nexus slung his right arm onto the middle of his chest, the pain suddenly stabbing through him then fading slightly. "… before the Titans catch you."

Cheshire smiled hopefully, somehow knowing that he would be fine. After all, it's him. She quickly grabbed both sides of his head, and pressed her forehead to his in their sign of trust and friendship. Like a lightning bolt and let go, stood up, turned around and ran off into the night, her speed incredibly fast… for a human. Nexus lost track of Cheshire before she disappeared, his vision beginning to go haywire. Why? Any number of reasons: pain, blood loss, his eyes messing with his head… Nexus clenched his eyes and shook his head about violently, trying to stave off another period of unconsciousness.

Starfire landed on the scene. She'd been the first to arrive. She didn't think she could fly so fast, but her desperation had bred an incredible speed. She could only guess as to how far behind the others were, so she began to survey the scene. Arrayed around her; laid out in a five pointed circle, were the Hive Five, each lying in a crumpled heap, out cold and injured, but alive and ready to be towed to jail. That was the priority of the others however, her priority was-

She heard a groan from behind her. She quickly spun around, her auburn red hair flailing as she did; and there he was, slumped against a war, apparently on the edge of unconsciousness, and groaning to himself at some sort of pain that wasn't apparent to her. She flew over to him very gracefully, like a Valkyrie coming to take the brave and fallen warrior to Valhalla. She kneeled down in front of him, her face plastered with concern and extreme worry from the large red stain on his chest and the droplets of red liquid on his chin.

"Nexus!" She yelled at his face, and though tempted to shake him, she didn't. "Nexus! Wake up this very moment!"

His eyes clenched shut. He'd heard her! Then a mumbled word sounded from his mouth, barely indistinguishable from the background noise of his pained groans. It sounded like the meekest plea for help she had ever heard. She was going to help even if he didn't need, and it was obvious he did. Being extra careful not to disturb him or hurt him, she gently picked him up in her arms bridal style. She noticed Nexus' face crunch together at the pain of being picked up. If earlier wasn't an indication of how bad he was, this was. Once finished picking him up, holding his head in her left hand, and his legs with her right; she noticed his left arm was limp. Luckily, she'd rested it onto his chest, but it felt very weak for someone of his build; and she knew now the arm was broken; badly. Another anomaly was that he seemed to be pained when breathing, like something was… it had to be his ribs! Had to be. _You are extremely lucky to have survived this battle, old friend. Why did you fight them when outnumbered? _Her questions to herself were pointless; the longer she stayed, the more likely it was that the boy in her arms would not survive. With a speed faster than she had ever been able to muster, she took to the skies, quickly rising above the rooftops of the city, and set on a course to the large 'T' shaped tower that she called home. As she flew, she felt Nexus snuggled up close to her, trying to find solace and comfort in her loving embrace; though it wasn't exactly an embrace. His head rested onto her chest, which she blushed at the tiniest bit; but he was unconscious so she could forgive that. He seemed so much more serene now, despite the pain he must be feeling. She smiled down at him, wishing she could do something sisterly, like move his red hair off his face… but then she'd drop him. When they got back to the tower though, she could probably do whatever she felt appropriate.

Look's like he was taking her up on her offer after all.

* * *

_Author Notes: Whoo; huge chapter/battle weren't it? It was exhausting to write, but damned enjoyable. I have no idea when my computer at home will let me onto again, (plus I neglected to mention my e-mails aren't coming through), so if I can't read/review anyone's stories soon, I apologise._


	6. Fuelled By The Past

_Author Notes: I must apologise to everyone reading this story for how long it's taken me to update. There are a number of reasons. Firstly, I'm doing some heavy duty revision for exams, and am feeling a little out of it for stories. In addtion, I've been concentrating a lot on drawing as opposed to writing, so I've been busy all around. However, as a simple quirk of mine, I can **NEVER** leave a project unfinished, and I intend to finish this story, along with any others._

_I apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I've checked through this twice, but me being me, there are probably mistakes. _

_Anyway, enjoy._

_

* * *

_  
**Chapter 6**

**Fuelled By The Past**

Nexus had been placed in the tower infirmary by Starfire, laid on top on one bed and it's covers, resting peacefully; and she'd left him in there, waiting outside the door. Cyborg came in when he and the others arrived back at the tower. Cyborg went into the infirmary, only to be stopped by Starfire at the door by a gentle hand to his metallic chest. Her words ringed inside his head. It was what she said to him that confused him. _"When you operate, be prepared to find that his anatomy is... different..." _Different how? He looked human. Sure his red hair was unusual, along with his choice of clothing... but he was human.

Was he?

Like so many others things, his perception of things had been altered.

He'd always seen Beast Boy as goofy, but strong deep down, and well over Terra. That had changed: with Terra back, Beast Boy had been turned into a mushy jelly of sorts, seemingly unable to sort himself out.

He'd always seen Starfire as bright and cheerful, unable to keep secrets from anyone. That had changed: why was she so hell bent on protecting this red-headed boy, so much so that she was willing to risk her friendship with the other Titans?

And then there was the boy himself: Nexus. Despite Starfire's warning; he couldn't check what Starfire meant. He didn't have time. Nexus' condition was worsening. In his unconscious state, his breathing was getting shallower, indicating that something was up with his lungs; given Starfire's description of the state he was in when she had found him. Well; guess he'd find out what Starfire meant by the warning.

First things first, Cyborg quickly tore off the green chest straps, not bothering with subtleties, and quickly tore his dull white top and underlying blackish tank top down the centre, revealing the red-headed boys chest. With each breath his chest moved up or down. It was gently muscled, but it was impressive for age. This kid worked out. Next, Cyborg picked up a scalpel from a small medical trolley he'd recently placed nearby. Besides some dim lights, and the glow of his robotic parts and red eye, the room was dark. The glow illuminated the room, casting great shadows across the subtle curves of Nexus' face. Cyborg prepared his scalpel, ready to cut open the body... And then a surprise... Nexus' eyes shot open, his brown eyes darting all around him; and fixing upon the scalpel. The metal edge gleamed in the strangely strong lights of the dark room... the sharpened but tiny blade seeming more menacing and deadly than it should. Cyborg held over his chest. It was hovering like a helicopter, and it only made Nexus' eyes grow wider in a sudden fear that stung harder than any physical pain.

"Hey, dude..." Cyborg began frantically, in an attempt to calm him down. "This is not-"

Nexus interrupted... Not with words, with by pointing his right hand at Cyborg's chest, extending his arm straight; and firing a beam of his blue energy at point blank range. With the combined force of Nexus' powers and the distance, Cyborg was sent flying backwards. He dropped the scalpel in the surprise and shock of the entire scene, with the only thing protecting him his armour, which had saved his life on more than one occasion. Cyborg went through wall after wall of the tower, seemingly almost going through to the other side of the tower... until... He landed in the main room of Titans tower, flat on his back, his circuit boards aching throughout his chest. Scaring his chest was smoking area, and that area had been scorched into specks of black, mixing with the whites, greys, and blues of his armour. Cyborg groaned and sat up, ignoring the confused stares of his team-mates. Nexus had just blasted him from the infirmary to the main room of the tower. He wasn't sure how many walls that was he'd been sent through… he hadn't been counting, but on the other side of the holes in the walls – the edges crumbling from the aftershock – was Nexus; sat up in bed, taking in long and hard breaths, in contrast to his earlier shallow breathing. His right arm was held horizontal, pointing at where Cyborg was sat in the main room.

"So… does our insurance cover damages caused by a half-crazed red-haired kid with superpowers?" Beast Boy joked idly, still staring at where Cyborg was.

"He is not crazy!" Starfire retorted, using a soft voice. "He is simply scared and confused; much like I was when I first arrived on Earth."

"But he's been here longer than you have Starfire." Raven mentioned in her usual monotone. "I think."

"He has been here longer than me." Starfire confirmed, her gaze moving to the tunnel of holes that lead to Nexus. "But if you knew him like I do…" Starfire lifted off the floor and flew through the tunnel of rings, to the surprise of everyone else. Her flight was graceful and soft, all apparently designed to soothe the enraged and scared red-haired boy sat in the infirmary.

Nexus stared, his brown eyes with their hints of red glaring at Cyborg… and then Starfire came into view, flying through the tunnel he had just created with his blast and the machine-man. Her eyes were full of love, her face compassionate, and as she flew towards him like an angel without wings, she held her arms out a little, offering a hug. Nexus' right arm - the only useable right now - flopped to the bed, and his head hung forward. His breathing was still hard and long, but it was more drawn out, longer breaths. As he stared at the bed sheets he was partially under he realised where he was. _That's one hell of a first impression I've just made._ He knew it wasn't really a _first _impression, but the little quote stuck in his brain had whispered it in his ears.

He felt slender hands and soft arms wrap around his head, and on instinct he, he immediately pushed himself forwards a little, falling into the warm embrace. It was only for the shortest of short moments, but it was enough to douse him, for now.

"Please, you must allow Cyborg to operate." Starfire asked gently, not breaking the embrace she held on him.

"But I saw that scalpel… and…" He whimpered slightly, and shuddered against her.

"I know…" She whispered to him, giving him a tender kiss through his hair and onto his head. "I know… It is okay."

* * *

The operation was complete. Nexus was now resting comfortably in his bed, and Cyborg had since cleaned himself up. Until the operation was over, Starfire stood outside the infirmary the entire time, since she was not allowed within the room. The team was in the main room. Cyborg was in the centre of the group, flanked by Robin on his left and Raven on his right. Starfire was stood about a foot behind the group, while Beast Boy sat on the couch, apparently disinterested, though none of the Titans seemed to notice. They were all looking at the huge screen that doubled as a TV. The screen was blank for the moment, pitch black, almost sucking in light from the room. 

"So why did you bring us all here?" Robin asked, his intuitive initiative peaked by Cyborg's little mind game.

"This." Cyborg pressed a button on the keyboard to the computer.

The team was presented with a top down view of Nexus resting in one of the infirmary beds. All his upper clothing had been removed, replaced by bandages that covered almost his entire chest in a cylindrical fashion. The rim began about two inches below his collarbone, and a single strap of bandages over his right shoulder held it there. His entire left arm was also heavily bandaged, and resting in a sling that went over his chest.

"Our friend here is quite the unusual being."

"Cyborg, we already know that." Raven said in her monotonous tone sarcastically, unimpressed with the large man-machine. "A person doesn't just run around shooting beams out of his hands everyday you know?"

"That's debatable..." Robin muttered to himself.

"Well, yes, we knew about his beams, his flight, his increased strength excetera; but what we didn't know was his internal structure." Starfire, unbeknownst to the others, tensed up.

She'd have to tell them soon.

"I'm guessing you did all the necessary stuff?" Robin asked rhetorically, looking up at Cyborg.

"Yep, and I got some pretty interesting results." Cyborg pressed another button on his computer keyboard, and a large window popped up, showing off a skeleton, with four broken ribs – three on the left side and one on the right – and a broken arm. A group of numbers under different heading was also present on the right side of the screen. "This is Nexus' skeleton when I took an X-Ray of it, just before the operation. Notice anything?"  
Starfire and Beast Boy didn't bother looking, one uninterested, and the other not paying attention Robin and Raven however, eyed the statistics and numbers with great interest. Robin spied a particular number under the heading 'bone density'.

"His bone density is-"

"Precisely," Cyborg interjected, "his bone density is nearly twice that of a humans."

"That would mean his bone strength and muscle strength would have to be like that as well." Raven noted logically

"Exactly Raven, plus a lot of other things." Cyborg quickly confirmed. "Otherwise he wouldn't be able to move that thing." The man-machine pressed some more _random _buttons, and the window holding Nexus' skeleton shrunk into the top left corner of the screen. A second widow popped up, filling the screen. It showed a part of a blood vessel, and again had a number of statistics to the left of it. "Bone mass, density, muscle strength, tendon strength, everything about his anatomy is nearly double that of a humans capacity. Put simply, he's practically designed like a tank, meant to survive the harshest conditions."

"It didn't help him against HIVE, especially Mammoth." Raven reminded them in a harsh manner.

"Aren't you just full of sympathy?" Cyborg joked dryly. "Had it been any one of them alone, maybe two of them even, he'd probably take them down easy, but this was five on one. He was lucky he didn't get himself turned into roadside purée. Luckily his body was designed to withstand it, and it's repairing itself."

Once again, Cyborg pressed a series of buttons on the keyboard. The second window shrunk into the top right corner of the large screen, and a third window popped up. Once again, it was a skeleton with a group of statistics. It was Nexus' skeleton, only this versions broken bones were less apparent.

"Look at his bones," Cyborg began, waving his right hand to emphasise his statement, "that isn't my work."

"His bones are... practically half fixed." Robin said in a surprised tone, his mask widening in conjunction with his eyes. "How?"

"He was built like a tank," Cyborg reiterated, "a tank that's simple to repair. It's his biology. His body has an increased healing rate. Nothing super fast, but he'll be up and about in a about a month and a half, fully healed; and he'll be stronger!"

More button presses, another shrunken window into the bottom left corner, and a fourth window popped up, this time full of nothing but numbers under dozens of different headings.

"Everything about his bodies strength is increasing, from bones to muscles." Cyborg continued his description, enjoying his little medical lecture quite a lot. "Once he's back on his feet, he'll be faster and stronger. Not by an incredible amount, just by about one percent, but it's stronger nonetheless.

"Apparently he upgrades like a tank too." Raven joked dryly.

"So what does all this mean Cyborg?" Robin asked, sensing the end of the informative lecture.

"One thing; I checked his blood, and it isn't human in the usual sense." Cyborg fell silent for moment, quickly checking over his final answer in his head, and filling the room with suspense. "He isn't from Earth. He's an alien."

Robin immediately turned around and stared directly into Starfire's emerald eyes. Though her expression was impassive, it was serene, relieved even. Unknown to the trio studying the statistics, Starfire had been stood in the background, tense and thoughtful. She'd been thinking about this moment for a while now... how to tell them? How to tell them all the secrets she'd been keeping from them? Well, simple, just tell them! Still, that didn't make things much easier. The red head was however, secretly jubilant this was finally coming out into the open. She could talk to her friends like they were her best friends once again. A jubilant feeling to say the least.

"I shall tell you what I can... later." Starfire told them, a small smile upon her tanned features. "Be aware that I shall _not _tell you about Nexus' past; that is something only he can tell you, but I can tell you about his race, and part of his origins."

"Starfire, why not before?" Robin asked while walking to Starfire, putting himself directly in front of her. Starfire closed her eyes and smiled a little wider, then look into Robin's mask once again.

"Because he requested that I not tell you. Much like Raven, he has a lot of trouble trusting people he doesn't know. As I said, later, I shall tell you what I can."

"Starfire... thanks." Robin told her softly. "But next time, at least let us know something before something like this happens."

Starfire nodded her understanding.

"I shall. I apologise for any discomfort I caused you. I... I hope that I have not lost your trust." Starfire's eyes fell. Robin just smiled at her and put a comforting hand on her left shoulder.

"You never did Star, you just had us worried."

Starfire smiled at Robin again, her largest smile for a long time, eyes beaming. Suddenly, she grabbed Robin around the neck and pulled him into her trademark bone-crunching hugs.

"Oh thank you so much friend Robin!

"Sure... thing... Star..." Robin crackled out of his squeezed throat.

Starfire let go, and Robin massaged his throat, trying to get some feeling back into it. He could hear Cyborg trying hard to suppress his chuckles.

"Right, next thing to do," Robin's schedule was pre-planned, and he knew what would happen next, "Raven, I want you to check on our patient."

"Me?" Raven asked, giving Robin an irritated eye and voice. "Why me? Starfire would be much more suitable."

"Oh come on Rae," Cyborg mocked, "what are you afraid of? He's asleep, and he's in no condition to fight.

"I _don't _fear him." Raven answered back. Without another word, preventing any more insults to her, she walked away, out the door and down the corridor.

"Alright-" Robin began, but cut himself off when he realised something. "Hey... Where's BB?"

* * *

_Why me? _Raven asked herself. She walked down the long, dark corridor, down to the infirmary, pondering the question. Why did Robin send her to check in on him, and not Starfire? Maybe he wanted Starfire to give him the information she held, and would fill them in. Maybe he had other things in mind for her... _Or maybe I shouldn't even be thinking that!_

The tower had become quite the strange place in recent days. It was like that all the time but... things were worse now. Beast Boy was spending a lot of time alone; Starfire had – until recently – been secretive beyond belief, and this Nexus person had blasted Cyborg through a number of the towers walls. Speaking of which, why wasn't she taking the more direct route? She knew why: she was taking her time so she got their later. Something about him just irritated her, and _scared _her. It wasn't that kind of fear, the kind of fear that means you cower in their presence, but it was something... much better, or worse... it depends on your perspective. From what she had seen of Nexus, he held a lot of hate, anger, and a lot more fear. In that way, he was like her. As much as she didn't like it, it was true. Nexus was like her in a sense, only his emotions were plain to see. It could only be something in his past to cause this much... trauma to someone. But what? She knew he wasn't some sort of demon whose father would destroy the world, so what could it be? Family problems? Lack of companionship? An orphan?

When did she become the psycho-analyst _slash _counsellor of the tower?

Here was the door to the infirmary. She opened the door indiscreetly, though keeping quiet. She looked around the dark room, spotting his bed, the sheets ruffled, and wires laid out all around the bed, and the machines tracking a heartbeat that wasn't there.

He was gone.

Why _didn't_ that surprise her?

* * *

Starfire was sat in the centre of the couch, waiting for the first question. Cyborg was sat on her left and Robin on her right. She could sense the tension in the air, smell it, practically taste it. Both of them seemed to be tense for some reason. 

"So Starfire..." Cyborg was going to ask the first question apparently. "You and Nexus are... well, you seem pretty close."

"Yes, we are." Starfire replied innocently.

"Yeah... I guess..." Cyborg didn't really know how to ask this. It was so... personal. "Well, what I'm trying to say is... are you two... you know... going out?"

Starfire stared for a moment, then suddenly started giggling. She giggled and giggled and wouldn't stop. If it wasn't for the question just asked, Robin would have too. Cyborg was simply left flabbergasted.

"Cyborg," Starfire was still giggling, "I would not date my own brother."

Cyborg fell off the couch, and Robin inwardly sighed, relieved that... wait... her-

"_Brother_?" Robin yelled.

"Oh, I am sorry Robin, I have confused you." What was she talking about. "He is my brother, but he is not my brother by blood."

"Care to explain?" Cyborg asked, pulling himself back on to the couch

"As far as I can, yes. I can only reveal so much." Starfire looked mildly disappointed, her eyes cast downwards for a moment before looking up to the ceiling, replaying the memories in her head. "We met long before either of us arrived on earth..."

* * *

Raven was once again walking the corridors, this time searching for Nexus. He must still be in the tower, that much was obvious, but where? She knew his type well: _stubborn!_ Unable or unwilling to listen to the best advice from the even the most highly qualified people. Logically, Nexus would listen to Starfire, given recent events. But since she was busy, it was left up to her, and she had her methods... and she knew where he was. She rounded the corner, taking a left, and continued walking. After a couple of dozen steps, she stopped by a door. This particular door happened to be open by a tiny open, a slit of light coming through it, along with the sounds of heavy exertions and violence against still air. She pushed open the door and stood in the doorway, looking into the room. 

There he was. The training room.

He was in nothing but his lower robe, and the bandages that were supposed to be around his upper body were now loosed, most likely from his exertion. His broken left arm, supposedly in a sling – that sling was now on the floor. His back was glistening gently in the rooms light with sweat, and he was throwing punches into the air. A left hook, a right hook, a hard left jab, roaring with each exertion. _This guy isn't just stubborn, he's stupid! _Raven could tell he was in no where near good enough condition to even be training, yet here he was, throwing punches into the air.

Nexus abruptly stopped, hunching over and breathing hard and slow, his back heaving with each breath. She could see the salty water from his body running down his gently muscled back, and dropping from his back. It wasn't obvious from his clothing that he would be wearing, but he was impressively muscled for a boy his age. Nothing stupidly huge, his muscles were subtle, but clearly visible on his back and arms.

"What... do you... want...?" Nexus asked through his harsh panting.

"You should be in bed!"

"I'm..." Another large breath. "... Busy..."

"You're going to be busy sleeping." Raven's voice was monotone, but subtle harsh and authoritative. "I don't think Starfire wants you getting yourself hurt worse."

"Who's... going to stop me... You?" Nexus pushed himself upright, his harsh panting slowing down to a more normal speed; though slightly above average still. "I'd like to see you try."

Before he could even respond, Nexus was encased in black magic, lifted a few centimetres off the ground spun one hundred-eighty degrees so that he was looking into Raven's deep violet eyes, and flung to the back wall of the room, pinned to it like a fly stuck by a needle. He opened one eye partially, the pain in his chest suddenly crushing his senses, and saw Raven glaring at him, her right arm outstretched and her hand glowing black.

"I'm not in the mood for games." Raven told him. "You're going back to bed!""

"As you wish, princess!"

Raven's eyes narrowed at that statement, the only hint of emotion she gave. She didn't tighten her grip, didn't move... just narrowed her eyes.

"Are you always this irritating?

"If I want to be." Nexus grinned, clearly showing he was enjoying this tussle with the sorceress.

Raven walked up to him, making each step slow and very noticeable. She knew his little weakness; his xenophobic need for personal space. She didn't want to do this to him, even if he was as irritating as Beast Boy sometimes was, but if it was the only way, then she would do it. One step, two step, three step, and four. A few more, and they were but a three inches apart. Raven glared into his eyes, piercing into his very soul and seeing the fear built to a nice little level. His facial expression was now grim, waiting for any kind of action.

"If you don't want to go to bed, I can keep you on that wall." Raven smirked a little, knowing she'd won. "At least this way you won't get yourself hurt."

Nexus struggled a little, but gave in. He knew that he was way too weak; and besides, this was one of Starfire's friends. He couldn't hurt them if he tried.

"You win." Raven lowered her hand, and the black magic dissipated. Nexus fell off the floor, first onto his feet, then his hands and knees.

Damn this crushing pain! Damn Raven! If this... this... _girl_, hadn't interrupted him, he could get stronger, make sure that those five wouldn't beat him again, wouldn't hurt him again; but no! She had to stop him! ... Maybe it was time for a break anyway... Better to rest now anyway. He looked up slightly, seeing a pair of ankles in blue footwear. He looked up further, along her legs, and saw her staring down on him with those intense violet eyes. _No... not again..._

"Get up!" Raven ordered.

Nexus pushed himself off the floor, only to stumble backwards and fall backwards onto his back. He sat up and began shuffling backwards, fear plastered all over his face and eyes. _It's happening again!_

"_Get up!"_

"_Stupid halfling! Can't even understand a simple command."_

"_He's weaker than a pup! Why don't we-"_

"_NO!"_

He shoved himself into a corner, sat in it, curling into a ball and covering his face with his arms. Only his eyes were visible, and they were trembling.

Raven could only watch, shocked and amazed. _What's up with him? All I said was 'Get up'._ But there he was, sat in the corner in the foetal position, knees level, trying to protect himself like only a feeble child would.

"Nexus...?"

"D-Don't hurt me. Please... I'm sorry." Nexus' voice was meek. He sniffled, fighting back the water trying to burst from the dam of his eyes. "I can't help it."

"Nexus, I didn't mean to hurt you." Raven apologised, trying her best to calm her earlier irritation. She knelt down, sitting on both her knees so she could be at eye level, though she kept her distance. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"I-It's okay." Nexus slowly moved out of his ball, stretching his legs and moving his arms to his sides. "It isn't your fault. You didn't know. And... I can't tell you either."

* * *

"His was born on an alien world," Starfire began "called 'Metronia'; the son of a human male and a Metronian female. On that world, well... it is xenophobic in a rather _strange_ way." 

"How?" Cyborg asked.

"They seem any outside blood as a contaminant, weakening the race." Starfire's eyes seemed to flash for but an instant. "Since Nexus is half-human, he was seen as this, as a weak and feeble person... He is not even considered a being, more an animal. More than this, he shall have to tell you when he is ready, but to continue: he and I met was we were both four of your Earth years old. I was on a spaceship, part of a diplomatic envoy to Metronia. Two ships were meeting. I was exploring the Metronian ship, and I found him. From that time, we became friends; and closer... so closer we became siblings. You could say he is the sibling I never had in my sister."

"Let me guess, you don't want to go into more detail." Robin asked, already very familiar with this pattern."

"Very little more detail. On the ship, he was curled in a ball, in a corner of a room, crying, scared of... something. He had sneaked onto the ship, and was hiding."

"So his own people hate him because he's half human?" Cyborg assumed, and Starfire's nod confirmed it. "So what makes him so distrustful of others."

"Again, he shall tell you when and _if_ he is ready, but what I can say, is that his life has been... most unpleasant to this point."

* * *

Nexus and Raven were walking back to the infirmary, side by side. Raven had managed to convince the red-headed teenager with... rather weird changes in attitude to say the least, that she wasn't going to hurt him. He was still breathing a little quickly, but at least they were on more malleable terms now. 

"Starfire can tell you everything she can once I'm back at my room." Nexus stumbled a little, the pain in his ribs suddenly shooting through him like a dagger. He regained his composure quickly. "I've asked her not to reveal a lot about my past.

"Why?" Raven asked, being perhaps a little inquisitive. "What is so bad about it?"

"Plenty." Nexus replied apathetically; at least that's what his voice sounded like. "Mainly though, it's because of my past that I find it hard to trust people. I got to trust Star easier because I was young at the time; but things have changed... _I've_ changed."

It was certain now. Only heavy trauma could have such an effect on someone. Raven knew this now. But what was it? It couldn't be just one thing, It had to be a combination of things, or a continuous trauma... maybe even both of those things. It was very strange to see this. Until now, he'd always seemed so strong and powerful, his mysterious demeanour only adding to that, a solid rock. But now, he was like jelly, soft and able to change his shape very quickly.

"I understand, I won't ask anymore." Raven told him calmly, reassuring him.

"Thank you. Given time though; maybe I can tell you about it... Eventually..." Nexus closed his eyes, imagining the prospect of what it could mean. Perhaps these people could be trusted, in time. "It might be nice to talk about it to someone other than Star. Don't get me wrong though, I couldn't ask for a better person to be friends with."

* * *

"So how is he able to heal so quickly?" Robin asked, intrigued and reminded by Cyborg's earlier lecture. 

"That is to do with his biology." Starfire began to explain again. "The healing in the x-rays Cyborg showed us are somewhat of an illusion." Cyborg and Robin looked confused. "The healing is more like a cast. It defends the weakened part of the bones while the real bone heals. It's a temporary layer of protection. While his healing rate isn't instant, he is able to heal quicker than humans."

"That's true." Cyborg interjected. "While the kind of injuries he got would take a human around three months to heal, he'll be fully healed in just under half that time, and he'll back on his feet and acting like it nether happened in just over a week.

* * *

Nexus was laying on the bed in the infirmary. His eyes were closed, and he was sleeping surprisingly peacefully, given recent events. Raven decided to watch over him for a few moments, sat in a chair by the left side of the bed. She was trying to analyse this person, this being whose very essence seemed to be fuelled by his past. Yet now, despite his inner turmoil, he seemed so calm, so serene. Perhaps sleep was his one refuge. _But you're a mystery; what is it that makes you so cautious around people? _There were two ways to discover this. One: wait for him to tell them; or two: read his mind. Reading his mind was definitely tempting, it would be a quick information gathering, simple, and it could alleviate any anxiety about this kid being a danger, or confirm any suspicions... but she had a rule. She couldn't! Not without permission. It was a rule she had made for herself back in Azarath: to invade someone's privacy by reading there mind should only be done in the most extreme or desperate circumstances. This wasn't one of those times! 

Was it?

He could endanger them all and... No! She wouldn't! Besides... if she was right about his trauma, then what she would see would be... quite disturbing. But perhaps... She reached out her right hand, fingers quivering at the anticipation. _No!_ She calmly pulled back her arm, slowly, surely. Perhaps... one day, if she needed to, but not today. Raven stood up and turned around, her cloak flailing behind her as she went. She opened the door, and light spilled into the infirmary. It seemed to fall over herself and nexus like a shadow. She looked back to the sleeping mystery on the bed. There was something about him that made her shiver. She could sense it in the air around him, how it seemed to swirl around him like a hurricane.

There was something _dark_ about him.

* * *

Onto the next topic. Where has Beast Boy diappeared too? 


	7. It's Better When You're Not There

_Author Notes:_

_So, apologies all those who read this story for how long it's taken to do this chapter. Primarily, it's for two reasons. _

_Reason one is that I have other stuff to work on, such as my drawings, and the other storie I've currently got running. (A third story I was doing has been deleted, because I felt like it was rubbish and wasn't really going anywhere – and I didn't have the motivation to finish it because of that.) Reason two is that I've moved on from Teen Titans a little, primarily because the shows over, and I've discovered other shows which I have found excellent! The "Naruto" anime/manga is one, and more recently, "Neon Genesis Evangelion." (Trust me, that anime deserves it's title as one of the best!)_

_Don't worry though, unless I decide that it's total scrap, I always intend to finish my projects; my love of TT hasn't died, and this fanfic is still one of my priorities – though I've really gotten into my current Naruto fanfic, so it was a little tough to even get started on this chapter._

_So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have fun reading._

_P.S. ruler function isn't working for whatever reason, so I've had to mark out scene transition differently from what I normally do. They are still clear._

_--------------------------------------------------_

**It's Better When You're Not There**

How long had he given it? He didn't know, but it was anywhere up to two days. An incredible amount of time, but something in his gut, head, heart, lungs, and liver; told him this wasn't going away. Maybe it was just insomnia. He'd stayed away from her, practically locking himself in the tower and his room unless they had to take down another super-villain... For all the good it had done... _Welcome to the life of Beast Boy. _He taunted himself. He couldn't help it really. _Obsessive, green, lonely, stupid... the list goes on. _Now though, he'd given up. He'd gone to the tower computer, found the address of Tara Markov, and was now walking to it in the early morning. The lucky thing? It was a weekend. No school, so her less than amiable friends wouldn't be the problem.

And now comes the inevitable thought processes of: 'Am I doing the right thing?' 'Does she feel the same?' 'I'm an idiot just to be doing this!' Not that it would stop the changeling, just slow him down. He'd decided that this would be the final straw! He knew that Terra's last answer of _"We can't see each other again..."_ – or something along those lines – was shaky at best. She'd didn't seem to quite believe it herself. He just thought that if he followed along, then it would help both of them. _The hell it has! _Well, this would be the final decision. Either they decided to try and work things out, or part and try to forget one another. God knows he'd tried to do that for months since the whole volcano incident. And once again, it didn't do a whole lot of good. He still kept that butterfly locket or whatever kind of thing it was in his room.  
Well, here it was. Her home. It was an urban area of town on the outskirts of the city, so all the skyscrapers were off in the distance. The streets were clean enough, and the houses seemed okay, with room enough for a four person family at most. Each had an upstairs and downstairs, and seemed in a good level of maintenance. A long row of houses all joined together No gardens of any sort, just one long chain of homes that looked more like one huge – admittedly huge length-wise – mansion. The door to the home he wanted was coloured a dull red, obviously with age.

"So this is how far she has to walk to school, eh?" Beast Boy mused to himself.

A deep breath to build up his courage reserves, which had suddenly managed to dump their load into the air, leaving the tanks empty. A hard exhale followed, as seemed to be the cliché of things. It was time.

He walked up to the door... hesitated for a moment, indecision hitting like a one tonne anvil on his head, as seemed to happen in so many cartoons. He shook it off, and gave two quick but hard knocks to the door.

A moment of silence.

The door opened, and their stood what he could only assume was Terra's foster mother, dressed in an apron dotted with pink flowers, and wearing a long green skirt and an orange t-shirt. She had brown eyes, and short black hair, with blue eyes and a small nose. Her lips were pink, and not full but not think either. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Her body wasn't thin, but it wasn't fat. It seemed to be perfectly healthy, though it was hardly the hourglass figure of Terra.

"Oh," the woman exclaimed, "you're one of those Teen Titans; Beast Boy. How can I help you?" She was polite, though it was hardly the kindly, sickeningly sweet voice women of this kind were often portrayed as in TV or comedy.

"I'm here to see Tara..."

_--------------------------------------------------_

Raven had just woken up, and was walking down the corridor of the tower to the main room. She was wearing a leotard with no sleeves and nothing else.These served as he pyjamas. Rather than just buy something more or less proper, she decided that this would be best for sleepwear. All the Titans slept in nightwear that was near enough their usual uniforms, but with subtle changes to make them more comfortable. She was normally the first one up, and this was one of those rare occasions where she could get some peace. Even with Beast Boy much more... solemn than usual, the tower still proved very noisy. She didn't mind it, but she preferred things a little quieter.

At last! The door to the main room of the tower. Who decided that a building shaped like a 'T', that's large enough for over forty people to fit in, would be suitable for five regulars and the occasional visitor? The place seemed to big for its own good. She got close to the door, and it shimmied to the right, opening the room to her, and letting in the early morning sunlight, along with something extra.

Standing two feet in front of her, his back turned, was a red-haired boy with bandages wrapped around his chest and right arm, and wearing only a pair of red boxer shorts. It was all she could do to keep from giving him a once over. He turned around and glared at her, his expression not changing whatsoever from a hard faced, stern look. What's more, in his right hand he held a cup of what smelled like... _herbal tea!_

"Can I help you?" He asked in a bored way.

Shaking off her anger and shock with a mental shudder, and thoughts of how she would annihilate him for touching _her _herbal tea, Raven began in a monotonous, and scathingly sarcastic voice. "Yeah, you can. First off, why are you here in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and bandages?"

"I slept in these." Nexus said in an irritated tone.

"Secondly, that's _my_ herbal tea!" She pointed to the cup in his hand, which he glanced at.

"I forgot to pack my own herbs."

"Finally, why is it that you always have to bother me? Intentionally or unintentionally."

Nexus shrugged in response. "It's fun."

She noticed Nexus' eyes give her a once over. Yes, it irritated her more, but that was a 'natural' reaction. He was a teenage male. After all, she was struggling to do the same for him in his state of near undress.

"If we're done here..." Nexus didn't finished his sentence. He simply turned to his left and walked over to the kitchen counter, laid his cup upon the top, sat down on one of the stools, and picked up a book that was apparently on there on it. Luckily, it wasn't one of her books.

Raven walked behind the counter and bent down to find her herbs, and check which ones he'd pilfered. She was sure not to give him a 'nice view.'

"Look..." came Nexus' voice, causing Raven to stand upright and glare at him. He was still reading his book. "We got off on a bad foot, I know. I have trouble trusting new people; but I already told you that. What I'm trying to say is..." He looked at her with a slightly softer expression, "I'd appreciate if we could start from the beginning." Raven raised an eyebrow. First he purposely annoys her, and now he wants to be friends? "I can tell you aren't bad people but... you know, I needed a while to figure it out."

Raven shrugged, "I suppose I can sympathise, I don't trust new people easy either."

"Could've fooled me." Raven glared at him again. "I said we'd start fresh, not that I wouldn't keep messing with you."

"Then expect the same from me."

He lowly chuckled. "I look forward to it!"

The two stared at each other for a moment, fiery brown meeting deep purple in a momentary staring contest. Silence filled the room besides for the silent sound of steam rising from the cup held in Nexus' right hand.

"Have any ramen?" Nexus suddenly blurted out.

"Ra-what?"

"Didn't think so..." He sighed. "Guess I've got some more shopping to do then."

"And you're getting the money... where?" Raven asked, assuming that she would not like the answer.

"Your purse." Nexus answered with a silly grin.

"... I don't have a _purse!_"

"You don't? Huh... weird girl." Nexus said absently, almost like he was stupid.

Was this guy for real? One moment he's all edgy and "Mr. Tough Guy", and now he's acting all 'friendly.' It had to be a half-alien thing! Guess this was his way of a 'fresh start,' though it hardly seemed different from when he was really trying to irritate her. Guess this really was him being friendly. Maybe this sarcasm was just how he defended himself in a way... She really doubted he'd go into her money and run off to buy _ramen... _Whatever that was.

"You have no idea..." Raven retorted as an answer to Nexus' previous statement. "You're absolutely certain we've started fresh?"

"Positive."

Nexus began thinking to himself. _Perhaps these guys aren't so bad. They haven't exactly attacked yet, and they have helped me. _At the moment he silently cursed his life and what it had made him into.

"Hey."

"Hm? What?"

"You spaced out." Raven told him as if it was common knowledge.

He sighed. "Sorry... for just about everything I've done to, well, tick you guys off."

"I don't blame you. You've got the same look in your eyes I do." Nexus looked at Raven with a puzzled face. "Put simply, you don't trust easy. As I've said, I can understand that."

"I'm guessing you had a hard life too, eh?"

"When you've had a father for a demon, who forced himself on your mother, then find out it's your destiny to destroy the world... yeah, you do have a hard life." Her tone was once again sarcastic, almost stupidly so.

"Huh... Sensei never did tell me what the hell happened when I lost my memory of that day."

Raven looked at him with her puzzled look. _He seems like he been on Earth for a few years, but how long has he been in America? _He probably wouldn't tell anyway, him being him. He'd probably say, 'I don't trust you enough yet.' Still, this conversation was proving... interesting. Despite initial problems, they didn't seem all too different. Hard lives, hard to trust... weird looks, frequent use of sarcasm. The thing was: she was good at being sarcastic.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" Raven asked half-sarcastically.

"I'm a half-alien, half-human, whose lived on another planet for the first ten years of his life." Nexus retorted in his own sarcastic way. "So no."

"What I mean is," Raven grumbled, telling herself she probably asked for that, "how long have you been in America?"

"Two to three months." He took a sip from his tea. "I've been... _travelling_ for the past six years."

"Don't tell me, you'll tell me when I gain your trust?"

"Yep." Nexus replied dryly. "But you're on your way." He took another sip of his tea. "Oh, by the way, I used your computer."

"... Why do you constantly try to infuriate me?" Raven asked in a scathingly sarcastic manner.

"I don't, but when I do, it's to lighten you up."

"My world doesn't need lightening up." Raven narrowed her eyes, and put her face close to his, so that their noses were barely a three millimetres apart. "My world is bleak and dark, with lot's of rain, dark literature, and closed curtains."

"... No wonder your so pale." Nexus replied with a cocky smirk.

Raven just stared at him, eyes narrowed to the point of slits, a harsh death glare washing over him. All of sudden, the boy in front of her felt _very _nervous.

"Err... S-See...? We're getting along better already."

_--------------------------------------------------_

Beast Boy was sat at a circular table in the kitchen. The kitchen itself had a wallpaper decorated in a pattern of flowers, while the table and chairs were wooden. The chairs themselves had plain white cushions for a little added comfort. It was still early, so he wasn't expecting for Terra to be up yet; and yet here he was, early in the morning, sat in her kitchen, leaning both arms of the table, waiting for her to wake up. Sometimes he felt like he was in a sitcom, his pain providing humour for a shallow audience that could only laugh at his misfortune.

Terra's adopted mother was working at the sink, apparently cleaning cutlery and plates for the mornings breakfast, and humming some tune that he recognised as not some seventies or eighties music. If he wasn't so wrapped up in his twisting stomach, he could this woman a 'cool-momma.' He began tapping the wood of the table with his right index finger. A clock ticking away in the background suddenly became more prominent.

'Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... Tick... tock... tick... tock... ti-'

"Mornin' mom!" That was the voice of someone he recognised instantly. He flinched at it.

The mother didn't turn from her work. "Mornin' Tara. You have a visitor."

She glanced around the kitchen. _Visitor? Let's see... There's mother at the sink, some dude with green hair sat at the table, dad isn't up yet so... Wait... 'dude with green hair...'? Oh no. Oh no._

"Mornin' Tara." Beast Boy said without looking away from the wooden table he was sat at.

"Yeah..." She replied monotonously. "Mom, me and my _friend _are going to my room. We need to talk in private."

"Of course."

Beast Boy promptly stood up, pushing the chair away with his legs, and followed the blind geomancer up the stairs to her room. The stairs and upper floor were carpeted with grey matting, with the walls around around free of wallpaper, leaving a dull yellow about. Hardly an appropriate colour for right now. When they entered Terra's room – or Tara as she was called at the moment – in was simple enough. Walls painted a deep gold, a single bed with a plain blue cover and pillow, a wooden desk in the corner and a chair to go with it, along with a few different perfumes and make-up items about. He assumed the mirrror was in one of the draws of the desk.

Terra motioned for him to sit on the bed, and he did so, sitting down quietly compared to what he would normally do: jump on it without a care in the world. Oh how times had changed. Terra sat on his left, and it was only now he took notice of what she was wearing. Black trainers with white trim, jeans in the usual blue colour, and a plain grey, loose-fitting t-shirt. Her hair looked to her been recently combed, and was neat. When he met her eyes with his own, he saw them sad, but with a hard edge to them.

"I had a feeling you'd show up sooner or later." She told him quietly.

"I did too." He said that as a joke to try to lighten the mood at least a little. No luck. "I guess you know what I want to talk about too."

She sighed and allowed herself a small chuckle, looking down tot he floor as she did. "It's all we've been talking for days on end."

"Hm..." This was going well. "Terra, the last answer you gave me was... Well, it was-"

"Stupid?" She asked, looking back at his face as he shot to meet her gaze once again.

"I was going to say shaky; but if you want to put it like that..." He shrugged. "What I mean is, we can't keep doing this."

"No duh, Sherlock." She mocked half-heartedly, looking down to the floor once again. "But I know what you mean, and the answer is still... _no_."

It was still there. She'd hesitated. "Terra... that's a load of bull!" He said that in a deceptively quiet tone, causing her to look at him with a shocked look. "You and I both know this isn't going to go away unless you're absolutely certain about it, and you're not."

"Well what do you propose we do?" She retorted in an exasperated voice, glaring daggers at him.. "Pronounce to the world I'm back and we're a couple? You know every single bad guy out there would try to get to us! It's the perfect cliché!"

"Terra!" He shouted back in her face, his own eyes intense. He sighed once, calming himself, and speaking in a milder tone. "I might be the clown of the team, but I've matured a lot. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself... so _stop _telling me you're trying to protect me; because I can do that _myself!_"

Terra could only stare at him n utter awe. "Beast Boy... I-"

"No Terra!" He shouted back at her. "Not another word of that! Just..." He trailed off, his expression suddenly solemn and sad. "Just... We can work this out... can't we?" She didn't respond. "I mean, it's not like you have to go back to your old life. Just say that you're Tara, and you're dating Beast Boy." He shrugged, putting on a half-hearted, hopefully smile.

"... BB... you know that if we were ever discovered..."

"So, I'd just have to save you, wouldn't I?" He put on a goofy smile, and closed his eyes. He didn't here a sound from her, so he opened his eyes.

When he did, he was confused. Terra was smiling at him, her eyes lidded slightly. It was the smile that got him; it was... mischievous, playful and... All of a sudden, Terra had pulled his by his arms into a kiss. This wasn't the sweet kiss they'd shared last time around; it was rough, hard, passionate, and full of complete adore.

He rather liked this.

Terra pulled off him suddenly when her mothers voice was heard from downstairs. "Tara, you two okay up there? I can bring drinks up if you want."

"No thanks mom!" She called back as politely as she could, since she was panting hard. "We're fine."

"Well," Beast Boy began, "your mother certainly killed the mood there."

In another rush of unknowns, he found himself lying backwards on the bed, shoved up so that his head was on the pillow, and Terra sprawled across his body, straddling his hips with her legs. Her face was so close to his that he could only see into her eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes. Suddenly, he found Terra's body delicious and irresistible, like he always had... but there was something more this time. The only problem was, Terra pinning him down by using both her arms across his chest, and her hips as extra weight, he found he could do little more than shift his legs.

"Who said that she killed the mood?" Terra asked him impishly.

"Terra... erm... you..." He didn't need to say anything else, nor could he. He felt like his windpipe was choking him.

"Don't worry, you've made your point. And t_echnically_, we've known each other for a longer time than since I popped back into the world..." Beast Boy suddenly felt a single fingertip tracing lines through his one-piece costume, and saw Terra pulled back enough so that he could see her entire face. "So we know just about everything we're willing to share about each other at the moment; and... I missed you."

"So... we're on...?" Beast Boy couldn't help but ask that, his grin becoming almost wolf-like.

"We're _definitely _on." She whispered in an incredibly seductive manner.

Beast Boy made a small 'rawr' sound to her as she leaned back into him, pressing herself onto his body as if he were a puzzle box, and she was the missing piece. That would become truer in the moments to follow.

He felt her began suckling on the right side of his neck, biting gently as well. Damn it felt good! Terra probably tasted delicious, so he decided to try her neck in the same manner. Indeed she was delicious, tasting like... Terra, basically... a taste he relished. How he'd missed her – he would've been happy just to have ended that with another kiss. This, however, was _much_ better, and he wasn't about to complain; especially since Terra's little moan onto his neck felt _extremely _nice.

This had proved – and was proving – to be a _very_ interesting morning.

_--------------------------------------------------_

"Sir!" A solider saluted to his commander, who was sat at a desk with his hands cupped in front of his face. The entire room was not lit, and only the light from the outside corridor provided any illumination. It made the shadowed officer seem like a shadow himself. "We've found his location."

"Where?" The commander asked simply.

"Jump City, Titans Tower. It appears that the Titans are providing him with shelter."

"So the Hive Five failed." The commander mused to himself, his face lowering just a little to signal this. "No matter, they have weakened him. Prepare an attack."

The soldier was taken aback, but did not show it. "Sir?" He questioned. "The Titans are heroes; we'll need a good reason if we are to attack."

"They are harbouring a fugitive; that is reason enough." The commander said spitefully. "Any other information?"

"Sir... One of the Titans is currently not in the tower. Beast Boy. He appears to have visited the residence of a... Tara Markov, sir."

"... I see." The solider could swear he heard the commander chuckle, though he was not certain. "He is of no concern to us on his own. What is the nearest force?"

"Two groups are close sir. Fleet flotilla six, which if fifty miles off the coast, and Task Force Claw sir, which are outside the city on routine training, in the nearby desert, sir." The soldier's memory had a sudden jolt. "Oh, and err... Operative Two-Fifteen, sir."

"The mercenary eh... Order them to attack. Immediately!" The commander told him in a cold, low tone.

"Sir!" The solider saluted and walked out, closing the door behind him, and leaving the commander of these forces in darkness.

Being a general did have it's perks; even if it was in this pathetic army. All brawn and no brains, nether really questioning orders. The truly strong we're not even allowed to advance. How disgusting that the leaders should have to sit behind desks! Still, if it suited his purposes, it would be bearable. He would catch this fugitive! What's more, he could remove the nuisance of the Titans in this attack with a single, swift, stroke; finally having an excuse to remove them. The city would be under his protection.

How well things had fallen into place.

The general chuckled to himself as a single dim light flicked on in the room. "You are _so_ predictable."

_--------------------------------------------------_

Nexus and Raven had each since got dressed into their usual clothing and returned to the living area. Nexus was once again sat at the bar, while Raven sat on the couch, reading a book and with a fresh cup of herbal tea to replace the recently finished book. Nexus was deep in thought, staring at his hands, which rested on the bar top. He seemed to be deep in thought, and Raven expected that like her, it was best to leave him too them.

They seemed nice enough, as he'd thought before. Perhaps... just maybe, he had a future here. Then, he immediately quashed that thought. He was a nomad because he had to be. Something would soon come along to crush a slowly building hope. Something always did. It was the way of things. While he hardly believed in fate, destiny, and any other such stuff, something always happened to drive him away. Any time now... _Any _time now... Just give it a few minutes. He waited, and waited, and waited, for what seemed like hours; days even. Just watching his hands and the invisible atoms that made up air dance about. Not that he could watch the atoms – but he could imagine... imagine that he seemed like an atom, always bumping into other things and flying off in some other random direction. It was the way of things.

_... Ah... here we go._

Nexus stood up and walked to the row of windows, calmly, as if expecting a storm. Raven paid him no heed; her book was far more interesting than the – admittedly – interesting character in this room with her.

"Raven?"

"Yes?" She did not look up from her book.

"Do military copters always come to the tower in a morning?" Nexus' voice was sarcastic, but seemed serious at the same time.

Raven looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow. "_No... _Why? Have they started?"

"Yes..." Raven put her book onto the couch and walked up to the windows, standing on nexus' left side. He was right. Flying towards her were twenty silhouettes – a couple of minutes away still – that definitely seemed like helicopters, military grade. "They're after me."

"Did you annoy them?"

"Must have." Nexus turned about and began walking for the door. "I'll be leaving. If I stay here, you're home will be bombed into rubble – I wouldn't want that." When Nexus reached the door to the corridor, which would eventually lead to the roof, he stopped and looked back to an impassive Raven, who was watching him leave. "Tell Star I'm sorry ... and... thanks. All of you." He then turned and walked away.

Something always happened... It was the way of things.

Still, he always made the best of it – like the daredevils that sought enjoyment, he seemed to have unimaginable luck when it came to coming out from superior odds. Often scathed, scarred, and perhaps hurt... but still alive. Surviving was what he did best. He found the door and walked up to the roof. The early morning breeze was refreshing, a small and welcome respite from the chase about to begin. The sun's light was nice too.

He walked to the edge of the roof, looking over and into the streets of the city. Besides of a small army dressed in green camouflage uniforms for a city full of grey skyscrapers, the streets were empty. He saw men, a few tanks coloured green too, and... wait... _It couldn't be him, could it? _Among the stupid green clothing and colouration of the men and tanks, stood a separate entity. His black hair, metallic grey chest – armour – and knee plates, light black mid-section, pants which were a colour of black with an undertone of light blue, and pure white skin, made him stand out in the crowd; even though from his vantage point, the men seemed like little more than large dots.

It was him! There was only one person in the world he knew with skin that was ghost white – as if he'd spent so long out of the sun he'd been turned into a phantom... which suited him, him being who he was. He must be on a job with them. Wonderful... Joy of joys. Well... Nexus always knew this particular person _liked _him. And to have tracked him here, to this city... must be desperate.

With that, he ran to the other side of the roof, dived off, and took off across the sea.

"Blackout..."

It was the way of things.

_--------------------------------------------------_

_Author Notes: Again, I must apologise for how long this has taken; but with all the things I do/currently am doing, the time I take on these will most likely decrease very little._

_Shorter than my other chapters, I know, but I felt it was good to leave it at that point._

_To explain Terra's actions; as you know, she's been resisting for some time in the fic now, denying her feelings and such – that is the reason for her suddenness. Hope you guys don't mind._

_As for the Blackout character – yes, he is an OC – I shall say no more._

_P.S. I'm going to University in around two weeks, so I won't be starting on the next chapter till then, purely because it is more convenient for me to start on it when I set up my new computer in Uni, rather than have it e-mailed from my current home. Sorry._


	8. Old Enemies, Old Friends

_Author Notes: I know, yes, it's taken me forever to update. Apologies, please forgive me. _

_--throws self at readers feet--_

_So, here is chapter 8, at least. A little shorter, but, hey..._

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Old Enemies, Old Friends**

"Running already Nexus." Blackout stated to himself, stood upright, arms folded across his chest.

"Sir, target has fled the tower," the commander of these forces spoke into his comm-headset, "requesting orders."

"_Attack the tower."_

"Sir?"

"_They were harbouring a fugitive; thus, that makes them criminals," _the general behind the comm stated calmly, "_attack."_

"Roger." The commander clicked his comm-set off. "We'll storm the tower. Blackout, you'll lead the attack."

"Of course." He grinned. "It wouldn't be any fun without me, would it?"

* * *

Beast Boy was standing at the window of the room, clad in nothing but white, loose-fitting boxers, dotted with smiley faces. Outside were soldiers marching down the street, followed by tanks. He could even hear aircraft overhead.  
"What the hell is going on?" He asked no one but himself.

"BB? What are you going to do?" Terra asked from behind him, still under the covers of the bed and fully aware of the situation. "You can't fight them all alone."

"I know. But the others will need me."

"You go out there, and you'll die!" Terra stated silently. "Wait until things quiet down, then you can move." Beast Boy looked back at her. She had a sad, but sympathetic smile. "Trust me BB; it's better to sit tight and wait things out. I know these things."

He looked out the window again. "I hope the others get out okay."

* * *

Nexus was flying high across the ocean, far away from the tower. Second thoughts racked his read; he should've stayed and helped, should've fought... but he ran. Besides, chances are that he was the target; he always was, so they'd bypass the tower and go straight after him.

He calculated his altitude at about twenty feet above sea level. That would do to look out for- Damn it! They would position a fleet right in his path wouldn't they? He quickly made a right turn, ninety degrees, and sped off in that direction at best speed. From the amount of energy he was using, combined with his speed, he looked like the light blue 'fireball' that only a few days ago had been considered a cosmic being. Well... he was a half-alien from another planet.

He suddenly heard engines behind him; jet engines. He glanced over his shoulder. Four jets. Wonderful! He looked to his front again, and made a wide, clockwise spin, dropping down to a height of three feet above the waves. His sheer speed – around fifty miles an hour was his top – he was causing a cascade of water to blast out from either side of him. Many would question why he would make himself such a target like that. He had his reasons.

The four jets behind him had formed into a side heavy arrow. They were F-17's, grey metal gleaming in the sun. The wing leader at the front, two wingmen on his left, and one on his right.

He spoke into his comm-system. "This is Knight One, target has been sighted, and distance is being closed; currently thirty-three clicks out."

"Roger that." His commanding officer spoke back to him. "Target is to be eliminated."

"Roger. Matching speed to target, target is in range..." They were flying above and behind Nexus. He flicked open the cover on his joystick inside he cockpit, revealed a small, glowing red button, signalling an armed missile. "... Locked on..." He was an idiot. He was flying in a straight line. Any _rookie_ pilot knew that was a sure-fire way to get yourself killed. "... Knight One, fox three." He pressed the button, and the missile in the centre right on the diagram disappeared. "Missile away."

Nexus heard the missile roar to life behind him. Simple tactics, they must consider him an idiot. The missile was coming close, the roar of the engine was getting closer. He spun on the spot so that he was facing the sky, and fired a single ball of energy. It almost immediately hit the missile, causing it to explode half way between him and the fighter wing. He guessed they were twenty feet above him, and thirty feet behind him, matching his speed. His spun once again so his back was facing the air, and continued on.

"Negative impact. Repeat, negative impact." The wing leader stated calmly. "Wing, prepare to fire." Three 'rogers' were given to him over the comm.

"Knight Two, fox three." The centre right missile of his plane fired.

"Knight Three, fox four." The far right missile fired.

"Knight Four, fox two." The centre left missile fired.

Three missiles at once, these guys were slow to learn. Nexus would've grinned to himself, if not for the current situation. He pulled up to about a height of ten feet, and began spinning in a corkscrew. Wait for it, wait for it... _BOOM!_ The three missiles connected to each other, and exploded. He spun so that he was facing skyward once again, still flying at top speed, and fired a single energy ball at the wing. He could see them beginning to break, but his projectile was far too fast. He hit the fighter on the left from his perspective. He rear end exploded in a mass of flames, and the pilot immediately ejected, flying into the sky, his parachute opening up.

Nexus' three pursuers were now aligned in a right-sided slant. He spun so that his back was once again facing skyward, and began turning a large left arc. He turned until he was on a direct course with the three planes, and barrelled forward. The two on Nexus' right turned to their right, while the third remained in a dead-on straight line at Nexus, suddenly unleashing a barrage of bullets from it's nose-mounted chain gun. Nexus began spinning in a corkscrew once more, the combined effect of his spin and energy meant that the bullets just bounced straight off him. He crashed through the plane, sending it into a shower of metal and fire. He stopped ten feet away from the fireball, and hovered in the air, the pilot of the plane held in his right hand by his clothing. He looked down at him in his dull green-brown suit, and white helmet with a mirrored black visor. Two leather straps went across his chest in a 'x' shape.

"You have a parachute?" Nexus asked, to which he got a dumb nod. "Use it." He dropped the pilot, not bothering to check if he did open it.

He patted his left side with his right hand... to find nothing there. Maybe his hand was deceiving him. He looked, but nothing but his belt.

"Idiot!" He growled at himself. "You _always _forget them!" He turned back to face the direction where the tower was, and blasted off in it's direction.

* * *

Starfire flung bolt after bolt of her powers down the corridor. Every time, one impacted with a soldier clad in his combat gear, causing a small explosion of their uniforms, leaving their scorched black. Behind her, Cyborg was firing down the way, intent of hitting any soldier that decided to come at him.

"Why are they doing this? Are we not their protectors?" Starfire asked, her eyes shimmering in confusion.

"That's what I thought," Cyborg said back to her, "but these guys have different ideas."

A black dome surrounded them, protecting them from a sudden hail of gunfire from both directions. Raven was hovering above them, eyes gleaming white, and hands encased in her magic. "I'd guess they were after our visitor."

"Why? Surely he has not provoked these men!"

"We don't know that for sure." Raven countered.

"He did not!" Starfire screamed in Raven's face, having to hover with her. "He is _not _that kind of person!" Her eyes shone vengeful green once more, hands balled into fists.

"He beats people up for money!" Raven almost yelled back. This shouting contest was not doing wonders for her concentration.

"He had to do that to _survive!_"

"Ladies, you can argue later!" Cyborg shouted up at both of them, ending the match.

"Titans," Robin's voice came over their communicators, not bothering to wait for any of his comrades to open their communicators, "there's too many. We're going to pull out of the tower! Raven, get them out of here; I'll find my own way out."

Before anyone could protest, Robin's signal was either cut, or he turned his communicator off.

Robin meanwhile, had just beaten down a few more soldiers of his own. Each was laid out before him, and he stood proudly over them, his bo-staff held in his right hand.

Now before him, stood a man with chalk white skin, jet black hair, grey armour, and dark grey pants.

"I'm going to have to ask you to back down." He said smugly.

Robin glared at the intruder, giving his bo-staff a quick three-sixty twirl. "It's polite to give your name before a fight."

"Of course." He grinned. "Blackout."

"Robin." He suddenly threw down three smoke bombs.

Blackout scowled and ran through the smoke and out the other side, finding nothing but smoke in his wake. "Coward." He whispered to himself. "I was hoping for a fight."

The wall to his right suddenly crashed through, and before him stood a man of around sixteen years old, clad in dull white clothing, with red hair adoring his crown, and disgusted brown eyes. "You'll get one another time! _I'll_ just be the one you're fighting."

"Nexus..." Blackout said with no hint of surprise, "... forget your swords again?"

"Always do." He smirked at Blackout, who smirked back. "Been paid yet?"

Without waiting for an answer, the half-alien crashed through the opposite wall in a massive blur. After breaking through another four, Nexus found his guest room, and a single soldier holding his two blades. He glared at the solider, who was holding his gun in his right hands, and the two swords in his left by a single rope tied to the hilts.

"Those are mine!" Nexus growled quietly.

The soldier was quick to drop the two swords and stumble out of the room through the door, the rubble aiding in tripping him up at least twice. Nexus stood their impassively, always staring at his swords that lay on the ground.

"I don't know why I bother." He walked over to them and picked them up, sighing as he did. He quickly placed the the two blades, covered by their sheaths, under his belt, on his left side. "It's not like I ever use them."

He looked out the window to find the sky clear of all airborne threats, at least for the moment. That was his ticket out. He ran at the window, which lacked glass, and jumped out of it. He flew in a straight line, intending to pass straight over the city. He quickly got to his top speed returning him to what his had recently dubbed to himself as his 'blue-fireball-meteor-human-thing-mode'. Yes, it lit him up like a beacon, but that was his intent. It would mean that he would be an easy target, thus all attention would be on him.

Like hell he was going to let them use Starfire for target practice!

As he looked down over the city he flew over, he was surprised to find the streets littered with soldiers and hardware; armoured transport vehicles and a few tanks mostly.

This wasn't right. Sure, he knew he must be some sort of fugitive on the planet, he'd figured that much; but that didn't mean they had to send an entire army after him. Did it? He did remember fighting those four soldiers in the desert, but he only disabled them.

Something wasn't right.

* * *

Sewers. He hated sewers. Dark, dank, smelly, brimming with rats, covered with built up dirt and grim. And it got his boots wet. But this was always a safe haven.

Footsteps.

He placed himself against the corner, waiting, hearing those footsteps get closer and closer. There was a single set. He pulled out his weapon and choice... and spun, ready to throw it at the group.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed. He promptly put his birdarang away, standing upright. Cyborg retracted his sonic cannon, and Raven lowered her arms. Starfire quickly grabbed Robin into a tight hug. "It is _most_ joyous that you are unharmed!" She released him, finding him gasping for breath.

"Thank... you... Star..." He took a deep breath, and regained his composure. "Did you find Beast boy." The tone quickly turned serious.

"No luck." Cyborg said, shrugging his large shoulders. "Wherever he went, he doesn't want us to find him right now."

"Beast Boy can look after himself for the time being," Robin began, "right now we need to find out what's going on."

"It all seems connected to Nexus." Raven stated calmly.

"He did not-"

"Starfire!" Robin interjected. He lowered his voice for the next part. "We aren't saying he's done anything, yet... but this entire situation started up when he arrived at the tower, and perhaps even just before we knew who he was. We need to find out why." He looked over to Cyborg. "How was he at the time it all happened."

"Hardly one hundred percent, but he'll be able to survive out there." Cyborg explained calmly. "He'll just be _damned_ sore for a while."

"So chances are he won't leave the city till he's fully healed." Robin mused. "If he over exerts himself, that'll just mean he gets hurt, and caught."

"So we search for him?" Raven asked, _almost_ sounding hopeful.

"No." Robin countered. "Finding out what's going on is our top priority, along with finding Beast Boy."

"Guys, one other thing..." Cyborg cut in. "I'm still in contact with the computer in the tower. They haven't broken through the firewalls yet; and I just got something rather interesting. "Pause for dramatic effect. "Last night, the computer was used by someone _without _a password to the restricted stuff. But they didn't even try to hack into the restricted stuff."

"What was he searching for then?" Starfire asked anxiously. She and the others already knew who had done that."

"The obituaries."

* * *

That night, the rain was coming down like a shower of mini-meteorites. The ground had become little more than a soup of brown mud and grass blades. One would be lucky to be their hand in front of their face in this downpour. His clothing felt so sodden that it almost felt like armour. Uncomfortable and more difficult to move in He also knew that the lower part of his clothing was heavily stained brown. Ah, the joys of wearing white. His normally vibrant, crimson red hair was now a much darker red. The sheath of his swords was also soaked, but kept the blades within from getting wet.

As he stood in this unassuming little mass of land, forgotten by many, he stared down at the little stone before him. Only two feet high, with a small half-circle at the top, the words were barely visible behind the rain and the gradually lowering clouds. His hair clinging to his face, and the water dripping from the top of eyes were also barriers to his eyes. He could feel every little droplet drip off his skin wherever it could.

This was his reason for coming to this city. A grave.

"They say ghosts normally linger in places – or because – they have unfinished business in that place." He told the little stone, scowling. "I'm no ghost; but I have a lot of unfinished business with you... "

The grave, or the corpse buried under the ground, gave no response.

He felt many conflicting emotions. A feeling of nearing closure, and yet something nagging him that this was only the beginning. Love and hate. All sorts of things.

"You ran away. Just like I tend to do." His scowl softened. "But at least you had a good reason too. Me? I tend to run because I fear fighting. I fear hurting others, and myself." He smiled bitterly. "Funny, huh? You'd think that would be a good reason to run, in a sense. But yeah... I'm just afraid, a scared little boy running away because he's scared of getting hurt." He sighed, looking down to the ground, then back to the marker. "I'm sure you've figured that out already."

He turned around and began to walk away. This little talk had done some good. He'd have to visit again sometime, if he ever got the chance.

A small voice told him to fight back, find out the mystery, protect... But he multiple voices in his head, and he didn't trust a single one of them. All they did was hurt people.

But then another voice came, and told him exactly the same thing. This one was a new one, and for some reason, he trusted it. He knew he was crazy, but after ten steps, he stopped, and looked back to the grave he had just been stood on, and smiled in a reminiscent, caring way.

"Yeah, I'll tell mom you love still her."

He turned back around and walked away.

Not an hour later, he was back in that place. The place where Raven had first found him, fighting in a cage for money to survive. These people called it 'entertainment', and to them it was. He knew of similar things from where he was born. He preferred to call them 'animal-fights'; because anyone who stepped into that cage had to be primitive, willing to fight for the scraps society gave out.

For tonight though, he was sore from his earlier ordeals, so he sat at the bar, a single shot glass in hand, filled with unassuming clear liquid, and a bottle of the same by his right side.

He heard the drunken howls from the fight room, but in here, all was peaceful. This was where the more 'refined' of people stayed. To play pool on the old table. The regular 'clank' of balls was a welcome sound, almost like a stress reliever. The small laughs and chuckles of the regulars were also soothing. Though he knew none of them, any regular in this place considered any other regular a friend.

And while he was new, he'd become a regular, and accepted into this small group. A society within a society, within any number of different, larger societies. It was a complex map.

He felt a presence behind him suddenly, as if he suddenly raised out from the floor. _He's always doing that. _"Can I help you, Blackie?"

Blackout scowled at that, then smirked. "You sure can, Neko. You can give me some of that."

"Pull up a stool." Nexus told him nonchalantly.

The chalk-white skinned man did just that, grabbed the bottle, and called for a shot glass. "So, how is it?"

Nexus quickly threw back the liquid, then put his glass back down to the bar top. A small fire lit itself in the back of his throat. Not once did he wince. "It's not sake." he said with a knowing smile

"Nether like sake myself." Blackout replied as he threw back his own shot. "Too bland or my tastes. And it leaves that weird after-taste in your mouth.

"And vodka just burns you."

"You do know the legal age limit in America is Twenty-One?" Blackout told him suddenly, not forgetting he was always guilty of the same crime as his target and drinking partner.

"Actually no;" Nexus replied, glancing over to him, "and since when have you been concerned with such things." His eyes gestured to the bottle in Blackout's hand.

"Wouldn't want you getting drunk." Blackout replied with a sly grin.

"Everything in moderation." Nexus replied, fully turning to face the side of Blackout now. His face was nearing the end of becoming defined, clearly he was teetering on the edge of adulthood, being eighteen. He was still wearing his usual armour. "May I ask why you haven't attacked."

"Two reasons..." Blackout put two fingers up to Nexus' face, palm facing him, "One you remember that we agreed places like this would be off-limits. Too much good drink to waste." He turned to face Nexus, giving him a knowing smile. "Two... they're late with my next payment."

"Pfft." Nexus turned back to face the front. "Mercenaries..."

Blackout chuckled as he turned back to face the front also, taking note of the many different intoxicating drinks that adorned the wall. "A man's got to earn a living. Or didn't you know that?"

"You and that bloody cocky attitude." Nexus grumbled.

"All that grumbling has never let you beat me before." Blackout smirked once more, this time triumphantly. He knew he was winning. "Twice I've beaten you, back in Japan."

Nexus just growled in his throat.

These two knew each other well. In his six years in Japan, Nexus had met this person, two years older that him, at the place where they had trained together. With his cocky, derivative attitude to others; and Nexus' sarcastic ways, along with a drive to beat someone with his attitude into the dirt, had created a personal rivalry between the two. They considered each other fr... opponents. One of the few respectable ones the other had.

"So... what happens now?" Nexus asked in a bored tone, but suddenly. This was one of those times he refused to be cocky.

"Well," Blackout began just after downing another shot of the clear liquid, "you can either stay here and live off bar snacks and alcohol; or things get started up there again... or you go back to Japan."

"Why Japan?"

"Sensei has been asking about you. He knows what's going on with you, why you left." Blackout told him in an almost annoyed tone. "Why he'd bother with you is beyond me. I was the star pupil."

"The underdog's are always more interesting, aren't they?" Nexus said with a small chuckle.

"You were hardly an _underdog_. You were second best in the class, behind me."

"Then I'm an underdog against you."

They two looked at each other again, harsh brown piercing into two pools of black, that seemed to reach out and surround the brown.

Blackout pushed off the stool and began to walk out of the small place. While he liked how dimly lit this place was, and the sounds of fights in the back room, he'd gotten bored. And unfortunately, till his next payment came through, he'd be bored.

"Hey, I wasn't kidding." Nexus called. "I'm going to fight you again!"

"You'll lose again." Blackout called back, walking towards a wall with a large shadow cast over it. He didn't stop, he just walked straight at the wall, then disappeared into it.

Nexus smirked, then turned back to the bar top once more. "Arrogant bastard!"

* * *

_Author Notes: There you have it, chapter 8. I know it may take longer for me to update, but I intend to finish this story, no matter how long it takes._

_And yes, I've revealed a little bit more on both Nexus and Blackout._

_Now, in case you're wondering how Titans Tower fell so easily, it was taken by surprise, and overwhelming force. Come on, we all know that even super-de-duper-heroes can't survive against a small army... unless they're Superman, but that's an entirely different story that I most likely will not write._

_So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And the next one shall arrive... when it arrives._


	9. Words Of Acquittal, Words Of Sanction

_Author Notes: Let's see, it only been five months since I last updated this particular story. _

_I know, I'm a bad bad man. ---begs feebly for forgiveness--- _

_So what do I have to say? Well, I've been working on my Evangelion fanfic a lot recently, and decided it was time to get back to this and my Naruto fic or a little while. I've just had trouble coming up with this chapter._

_Also, just to let you know, I'll be changing the title of this story in a couple of days, (I'm not satisfied with the current one anymore), so the next time you see this story to you e-mails, look at the description._

_---sigh--- Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Words Of Acquittal, Words Of Sanction**

_'Sometimes, to do good... you must be willing to do evil.'_

He remembered that proverb well. Something his sensei had told him long ago. _' ... willing to do evil.' _That included many things; including the most brutal of executions.

It was why he always avoided his katanas. Because he saw them as one of the most brutal, efficient evils ever designed by humans until the advent of gunpowder and guns. But swords could still produce some of the more gruesome effects; effects that guns could not. With the bigger weapons – bombs and such – you at least had a chance of being annihilated in an instant.

No pain.

With swords, even with a clean slice or thrust straight through the body, the person would still feel it. The only chance to miss pain would be a clean slice through the throat, or a a sharp stab through a vital organ for immediate death. Even then, you'd be lucky.

But to do good now, he had to accept the evil he had to perform.

It was the reason why the clothes of his right forearm were now soaked in red, having been plunged through a man's right shoulder down to the joint of his elbow, and the man's green helmet had been flung off in the impact, revealing his short cut black hair.

The moon was strangely white for such a bloody attack.

He had also turned his forearm and gripped the mans throat; not tight enough for strangulation, but enough to tell him that could readily happen.

It was also the reason he had fifty or so guns pointing at him. After all, when you are under the command of someone good, like this commander probably was, you gain a certain respect and loyalty to the man. He could that was why they all looked ready to shoot him. His brown eyes turned to the man, and he placed his head just over his right shoulder.

"First things first," Nexus told the commander darkly, "tell them to lower their weapons."

"L... Lower your weapons." The commander spoke out weakly, dark red stains slowly creeping out from his right shoulder onto the mixed greens and browns of his standard army camouflage clothing.

None of the soldiers showed any hesitation, and immediately did so.

"Good. Second..." Nexus continued in his dark tone. "Get one of them to call an ambulance."

The commander was almost about to ask why, when a jolt of pain through his entire body reminded him. "One of you... call an ambulance." One soldier was quick, and was quick to pull out his cell phone. Obviously, it would need to be confiscated later, the commander noted.

"Thirdly, I want the name and location of the commander-in-chief of this entire thing."

"I... I can't give you that." The commander choked that out.

"I'll remind you... that you now have an arm sized hole in the centre of your shoulder," Nexus told him, his tone gaining a slight growl, "and that I can just as easily plunge my left arm into your chest, tear out your heart, and show it to you before you die."

It was still surprising how graphic threats of injury and death – especially when one was already injured – could sway a person. But this one would not be swayed so easily. He admired that. "I... can't tell you. You'll have to kill me."

Nexus was almost ready to growl at him as he felt frustration rising. He knew that soon one of the soldiers would snap, and let loose a torrent of metal at the two of them. "Look, I know you don't want to die, and I admire your loyalty; but I really need you to tell me." He surprised even himself when he didn't light up an energy ball in his left hand. "If I'm right on what I'm thinking, your commander-in-chief may not be human."

The commander of this unit of fifty men considered that... The current orders were strange... Just for hiding a fugitive who was actually helping the Teen Titans at times, the fugitive and the Titans were to be captured and if necessary killed. Even a merc had been hired.

"Alright..." The commander gasped suddenly when a particularly painful spasm racked his upper body. "He's inside the city; underground base... that's all I know. I've never gone there."

Nexus' eyes washed over the man. He was telling the truth. "Thank you." He let go of the man's throat and put his arm straight. "This is going to hurt. I'm sorry."

The commander nodded grimly. "I understand. This is war, after all."

Nexus tensed, and then yanked his arm free, revealing the gaping, arm sized hole in the commanders arm. The commander swiftly fell to the ground, crying in agony as he vainly attempted to stop the sudden flood of blood. Nexus turned to stand side on from the man, his left side facing him, and fired a beam in a semi-circle at the ground on his right side, bringing up the road and turning it into rubble, dust also concealing him as the twenty soldiers on that side prepared to fire. The others didn't fire, for fear of hitting their leader as he fell along with shock at what they'd just seen. Nexus, using the distraction from his beam, blast off into the sky and landed on the nearest skyscraper, and looked down at the scene. He could hear the ambulances now, so they were close. That man would always have that injury, always be disabled in some way or form to the day he died, so there was a good chance that he'd be reassigned to a desk job.

But at least he'd be alive.

As the wind washed over him from his rear, blowing out his robe and hair in front of him and ruffling his clothes, Nexus brought his left arm up and looked at the blood. There was so much down the upper forearm that it was still soaked and not drying in, whereas the rest on his hand and the rest of the forearm, while still coated red, was drying or dry.

He groaned.

His thoughts were grim. _This is going to take a while to clean._

He lowered his arm and turned about, going to the roof door that would lead him into the skyscraper. He'd been surprised to find a friend was using these as a temporary set up, and the army unit just passing by underneath as he landed on top of the skyscraper. Not only could he gain help that the Titans currently could not provide, but he'd also gained himself some valuable information.

Daybreak was two hours away, so the Titans might well come out of hiding soon. For some reason, night or day suited the Titans. It didn't matter to them, since they had people in the team who suited both.

No one notices bugs unless they want them killed.

Not even when they are abnormally green.

* * *

The green fly had since flown into the sewer, and morphed back into it's humanoid form. "That was _disgusting_!!" Beast Boy quickly cried into the dark tunnels, the sound echoing through them.

Why had he gone into the sewer? Well, it seemed like everytime Titans Tower got invaded, the first thing his teammates did was go underground, and that meant sewers. Nope, they couldn't go to a beach, a tropical paradise or anything like that; it had to be a stinking, smelly, sewer! Dark sewers where it was hard to see without a light, and everything seemed like a mass of black shadows reaching out to take you into their black.

His mind rattled over how and when there job had suddenly become so bloody. It was almost like... a war. And while he knew that logically Terra should be safe, he couldn't help but worry. They'd only just gotten back together in so many ways, and now they'd entered some kind of war.

He was quite tempted to turn into a dog, or something else with a high smelling capacity... Until he noticed the rotten, smelly water washing around his feet, and smelt it too. That was out of the question, so he settled for calling out.

He walked to a corner that went to the right, and stayed just behind it. "Guys?" He fell backwards when a sharp object flew past his face, the dark, murky water soaking into his suit. His buttocks were also feeling quite painful from hitting the stone construction around him. "I hate sewers. They're always so... so... cylindrical!" He growled his strange insult.

Robin walked in front of him, calm as ever, and picked up his bird-a-rang, currently embedded in the stone. A bright, white light shone on his back, Cyborg's in built light. "Sorry B.B. You startled us." He looked down at him and offered him a green gloved hand. The green changeling took it and was pulled up to his feet, as he noticed Starfire, Raven and Cyborg fall in behind Robin. "Any news."

"Boy, do I have news!" Beast Boy said enthusiastically but with a grim undertone. "It's a freakin' warzone up there!" He pointed to the ceiling of the sewer. Cyborg was barely able to stand upright in this particular section. "There's soldiers and tanks and guns and-"

"Friend Beast Boy!" He was suddenly enveloped by the super-humanly strong arms of Starfire, which wrapped around his back and pulled him into her front. "It is good to see you safe!"

"Thanks... Star..." He managed to choke out. Starfire – quickly learning that she could only hug for a relatively quick amount of time with such strength – let him go and drop back onto his feet. He panted for a few seconds as he tried to get oxygen back into his system.

"What about our red-headed friend?" Raven asked monotonously, but suddenly.

Beast Boy knew that she cared, but this was a situation. "He's... scary." He said in a low, grim whisper. "It's... not even affecting him." He felt his stomach churn.

"What do you mean, B.B.?" Cyborg asked, learning down and inspecting his face.

"I recorded what happened." He pulled out his communicator and the other four Titans directed their attention to it. "Hope you haven't eaten yet."

* * *

"Hey, you here?" Nexus knocked on the door a couple of times. "Yo, Cheshire cat?"

The door opened suddenly to reveal an Asian girl of the same age as him with long black hair and brown eyes, and wearing white shorts and a loose white t-shirt. Apparently her night clothing. She immediately noticed the distinct aroma of blood, and directed her attention to his right forearm. Indeed, the cloth was coated in a generous coating of the human liquid.

She groaned. "Get inside."

He was quick to do so, and the girl immediately closed the door and locked it. Her small home was just a bedroom and a kitchen. Currently they were in the kitchen, lit by a single lamp, and a dulled, cream yellow wall for it, with a grey carpet. The counter began in the right corner of the room, where a microwave sat. Halfway down an opening where the oven was situated was available, and next to that the white washing machine. Stools and a wooden table were situated in the centre of the room.

He brought his right arm up to his face again and stared at the now red forearm cloth. He'd seen this colour so many times before. It wasn't because of his hair... He'd done this before. He still hated the scent. And what scared him was that he was used to it. He'd been used to it far too early in his life.

"What are you doing here?" Cheshire asked calmly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nexus retorted dryly, not really in the mood to talk further.

"Yes. You need to wash your clothes."

Nexus grinned. "Observant as always."

"Hope you're wearing underwear." Cheshire told him with a smirk.

Nexus took that as his cue. He undid the green straps from his belt and shrugged them off, letting them drop to the floor, and hearing them hit with a thud. Cheshire remained in the room, preparing the washing machine as Nexus continued to undress, pulling his white top and brownish black tank top off, groaning as he felt the wet cloth slide across his skin.

It was always the same. The feeling of clothing damp with blood, drying and encrusting on your hands. It didn't matter how young you were when you first felt something like he'd experienced again tonight. It was always etched into the brain.

One voice... laughing in an almost berserker, insane way. Another... chuckling to himself, enjoying the colour, the thrill...

_Shut up!_

"Problems?" Cheshire's voice asked in a friendly mocking tone. "You stopped undressing. Not embarrassed are you?"

Nexus simply sighed. "Inner demons." He returned to removing his clothes, un-clipping the belt at the back and letting it and the lower robe it held fall to the floor. He kicked off his boots without another thought, not fussed about untying the shoe laces.

He stepped out from the centre of the pile and stretched his arms out horizontally, feeling his muscles stretch and groan as he did.

Always the same. Everytime.

This was for the greater good though.

"Any plans tonight?" Nexus asked suddenly.

"The usual." Cheshire replied matter-of-factly. After all, this was her job, dull as it sometimes was. "You'd be surprised how inept the army is at security for banks and museums." She told him calmly, smiling to herself at how easy it would be. "And with the Titans out of the picture... Planning on joining me?"

Nexus chuckled a little. "I've been getting by in my own way."

The Japanese girl shrugged. "So I've heard. Never thought you'd be one to fight by choice."

"Money has a way of driving you."

She chuckled a little. "I suppose that's one thing I like about you, you aren't the goody two shoes hero. You're willing to see what's good about the darker side of things." She picked up Nexus' clothes and threw them into the washing machine, and poured in the powder. "After all, what's good without evil?"

"The world would keep turning without justice." Nexus told her as he turned around to watch her turn the machine on. "It's a nice word, justice... but it's rare that it ever happens. On any world." He sighed. "I used to believe in a God of some sort. Then I realised that God's wouldn't help you. They don't protect people. They just look after themselves in their heaven."

"Just like politicians." Cheshire said absently, sitting down at the table. "Tea?"

"Have any green tea?"

"Just the flavoured stuff in teabags, the company ones that ruin the original with 'flavours'." Cheshire frowned, obviously a little annoyed. "Best I can do in this city."

"It'll do. Do you have any Camilole flavour?" Nexus said as he walked to the kitchen counter and looked in the drawers, seeing that she did. _She wasn't kidding._ "And thanks for changing the subject."

"Anytime."

"Do you have a bath?"

"There's an en-suite shower in the bedroom. A toilet too." She gave a shooing gesture with her hand. "You got any plans?"

"Just sleep. Tomorrow, I'll go on a manhunt."

* * *

Robin seemed unaffected on the outside, though his brow was furrowed.

Cyborg looked shocked and... well, shocked.

Raven also seemed unaffected on the outside.

Starfire looked... sad.

"Okay guys, here's the plan." Robin began suddenly, gathering the Titans into a circle around him. Starfire stood on his left, then Cyborg, Beast Boy and finally Raven by his right. "Cyborg, I need you to find a computer and find out what's going on. Beast Boy, you'll back him up." They both gave a nod. "I'll see about looking up on my sources inside the city, see if I can dig something up about this 'Blackout' guy who's turned up. Raven," he turned his gaze to her, "I want you to find our redheaded friend." She nodded slowly, apparently not happy with the task. "Also, I want you to into his mind and find out anything you can about him."

"Why?!" Starfire suddenly shouted at him.

"He's dangerous." Robin looked to her calmly, as did the other Titans. "Until I find evidence otherwise, he's our priority target. The army is secondary until we find out if they're legitimate or not."

"He is defending himself!" The red headed alien protested. "Helping us get information! You heard his words on Beast Boy's communicator!"

"He could be wrong; the army may want him for good reasons, and may have mistaken us as working with him."

Starfire lowered her head suddenly, gritting her teeth. Could they not see that he was simply helping them? That he was afraid of them? You'd be afraid if an army was pointing its guns at you. And besides, he was helping them in his own way. Yes, he wasn't going about it in the correct way, but if they knew his past...

She would also protest to Robin's order of having Raven go into his mind without permission. It was like violating the persons sanctity! Raven of all people should know that. Her eyes looked up, though she did not move her head, as she saw Raven rubbing her forehead with her index finger and thumb, apparently not happy either.

What could she do? She had to follow his orders. He seemed to make the best decisions most of the time, but his judgment could often become... clouded. He was also stubborn, he was not listening to her. Yes, Nexus was going about it in the wrong way, but he was trying to help solve this mystery. And she knew him; everyone was after him, she knew how he would react eventually. It must be like deja-vu for him.

She raised her head, her green eyes radiating anger and resolve, her left hand clenched into a fist. "Then I am afraid," her right hand reached to her side – her belt – and pulled out her communicator. She held it in her hand, palm facing upwards, "that I can no longer follow your orders." The communicator suddenly exploded in a shower of debris as Starfire unleashed a small starbolt into it. A strangely beautiful experience. "The obligation of protecting my family _must_ come first." She lowered her hand to her side, and clenched that one as well. Her voice held such resolve. It was almost strange to hear it on her normally cheery voice.

She saw the understanding face of Cyborg. He was like a big brother to her, there to guide her through the hard times; but he couldn't help her now. She looked at Beast Boy's face, and saw his sad, but again knowing that he could not dissuade, and saw that he understood the idea of protecting those you love the most first. She looked to Raven; as usual her face was passive. Even now it was hard to read her face. She looked to Robin, he was staring at the debris of her communicator on the ground, the lighter parts being washed away by the small flow of dirty water washing around there feet.

"I am leaving the Teen Titans." Starfire turned about and began walking away into the dark tunnel, lighting up a starbolt in her right hand and holding by her face to act as a lantern. The green light seemed to dance as the starbolt faintly fluctuated.

Robin was still looking at the debris.

Why did his team always fall apart when he made tough decisions? _Does she think I make these decisions easily?!_ His mind was raging at her innocence and goodwill. They seemed to pathetically useless this situation. Outside though, he was still staring at the debris. _Damn you, Starfire! _

Family... she was the only one of them with any family that was alive or cared about it's own. Perhaps she had the right to do this. Loyalty to her friends was nothing compared to that.

... Loyalty. A nice word.

Perhaps he was just a bastard because he was a leader. Leaders were often perceived as such.

It was times like this he wished he wasn't a natural leader.

He had another tough decision to make.

His fists clenched, making the rubber emit small stretching sounds as it adjusted to his hands movements. They seemed to echo in the silence.

"Titans." Robin looked up now and looked at his three remaining Titans. "As of now... Starfire is to be considered a possible enemy."

"What?!" Cyborg yelled into the boy-wonders face.

"She is no longer a Titan, and will be protecting Nexus." Robin explained, his voice monotonous "That means she could attack us, and she has to be taken down if we are to get Nexus and place him in custody." He sighed and looked down at the dank water again. "I don't like it any more than you do guys. But that's the situation." He looked up again. "You have your orders." The next phrase was spoken without it's usual, almost kid-like enthusiasm, but in the tone of a hardened warrior, low and grim. "Titans. Go."

It was a full minute before any of them moved.

Robin then turned about about and walked in the opposite direction Starfire, disappearing into the dark that seemed to suit him so well, despite his bright clothing.

Cyborg and Beast Boy began walking away aswell, walking in Starfire's direction. Cyborg's shoulder-light, mounted on his left shoulder, lighted the way.

To his left, Beast Boy spoke up. His voice was protesting enthusiastically, green eyes looking for the large mechanical man's reaction. "Dude, can we really do that? Fight Star, I mean? It's not like she's turning evil or anything!"

"I know B.B." Cyborg responded in a low voice, not turning to look at the green changeling. "I understand; she's got to place her family above us... But... If she does, she'll be fighting us. It might just depend on who takes the first shot."

Beast Boy grimaced and stared ahead. "Who takes the first shot? Seriously, are you _that_ cold."

"Hell no!" Cyborg growled. "But that's the reality of this; quit bitching and deal with it!"

Beast Boy quietened at that. _Reality_. He often escaped reality. He did it many ways. Video games, music, acting in his clown-like way. It helped, it really did help.

It was why Raven shut herself off in her room or immersed herself in books.

Cyborg did it, burying himself in machines.

Robin did it, drowning himself in crime-fighting.

It seemed like Starfire was the only one in touch with reality. Perhaps she was right?

And now that she was gone from the Titans, would they fall apart? It had happened before, in another reality.

Raven meanwhile had taken up a seated cross-legged position, hovering a couple of feet in the air. Why she'd forgotten to hover and stop her feet getting wet before, she had no idea. Well, it might be because she had a lot on her mind.

Starfire leaving the Titans. She somewhat understood the idea of putting family before friends; but weren't the Titans family? _Aren't we family?_

Normally, she would not enter a mind without that persons permission. Only when the individual proved to be extremely dangerous would she; and she'd made up her mind. Nexus was dangerous. To do something like that to someone, based only on a hunch and because they were attacking you on orders... it was... wrong. That was the best way she could describe it.

Closing her eyes and softly chanting her usual incantation of 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos', her spiritual form – taking the shape of a jet black raven with glowing white eyes – left the sewers and went into the sky above the city. She concentrated, searching for that one particular psychic signature that would mark out the red head.

Idly, she noticed Starfire's mental voice in the background, running frantically.

_There. _She found him. ... But...

There wasn't one... There were...

... Three. _Three? He must have others with him. But who? Starfire couldn't have found him that quickly, so who's with him?_ And there was one other possibility... Was he...? _Well, best find out._

Her soul-self form silently flew towards the building, it's beak pointing directly at the sleeping redheaded boy. She passed through the solid mass of the buildings walls; it was always a rather surreal experience, being able to see inside a solid mass without actually having to break it.

There he was, sleeping. He was sweating in his sleep, teeth clenched and eyes shut to the point of pain. And also nearly naked besides his red boxers, the covers having been thrown off recently it seemed.

With a final dive, she was in.

Raven would not like what she would find inside his head.

Trust... It's a nice word.

* * *

_Author Notes: ---once more begs feebly for forgiveness---_

_Hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait you've all had to endure. Seriously, I really struggled coming up with how this chapter would go for some reason. I have a fairly clear idea for the chapter after this one, but I certainly didn't for this one. ---shrugs--- Don't know what was going on there._

_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter._


	10. Withered Flower

_Author Notes: I'll be free of University till late September-early October as of July 1st, so I'll at least be able to get working a little more. Apologies to the readers of this story yet again for the slightly long wait. But I will finish this story! As I've said before, I always endeavour to finish my stories._

_So, here is chapter 10 for all of you._

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Withered Flower**

"Well, how original." Raven commented dryly.

Actually, Nexus' mindscape seemed fairly similar to her own. A single, floating path of rock about ten foot wide and carrying on for endless miles was what she was currently stood on, which led out to what appeared to be no where. A yellowy-red sky with orange clouds made the place seem to be in the middle of a star close to supernova.

That was it. She wasn't sure if she was expecting to see his emotions split into colours like hers were, but her mind had been the only one she'd ever truly walked in like this. The experience with the body-switch with Starfire was a swapping of minds, so she never got to see inside her head. ... In a manner of speaking.

Raven began walking, wary of taking flight. Instincts derived from training told her that stealth would be best here. She was here to discern if he was trustworthy.

She actually wanted to wring Robin's neck right now.

Nether before had she invaded someone's privacy so. Even as a child, she knew this: _you do not enter someone else's mind like this without the persons permission first_. But this was for the safety of her friends, even if Starfire was blinded by 'family' loyalties. From the first time she'd seen this crimson red-haired boy fighting in that cage, something about him seemed... unstable. Not in the sense that he could attack you at any moment, it was... something she couldn't place.

After ten minutes of walking along this rocky road, she saw what looked to be an island in the distance. A short flight their, and she arrived to see absolutely nothing. Just a flat piece of grey land.

She was sure that even Beast Boy's empty head was more interesting than this place.

Seriously, at least she had a maze and emotions flying around in her head.

She looked around. Nothing. She groaned. She'd barely been here five minutes and it already seemed like a wasted trip. If she couldn't find anything, then what was the point?

Her brow creased as her irritation rose.

Then, when she looked to her right, she saw him. The unmistakeable crimson red hair, white top and long robe that substituted his pants. His back was to her, and he was...

... chuckling?

Something wasn't right though. That chuckling, it was almost... it was evil. It was mad. The sound of someone insane. Was he trying to scare her? He was failing miserably.

Nexus suddenly burst out laughing as he spun to face the ashen-skinned super-heroine. It was then Raven noticed two things: one, his hair was much rougher and wild than it was before, and two, his eyes... No iris's. No pupils. Just white.

White eyes that bore into her own, and all around her a sense of pure rage filed her senses, almost driving her wild at how sudden it was.

A maniacal, toothy smile decorated his face.

He was berserk!

* * *

There was a knock at the door. Who would call at this time?

She walked to it and opened it as far as it would go with the chain lock still attached, allowing her left eye to look out.

Before her stood a tall, tanned girl with red hair, smiling politely but nervously, her arms by her sides, and wearing a form fitting blue top that came down to the start of her stomach, and a form-fitting blue skirt.

The well known Teen Titan, Starfire.

"Can I help you?" The Asian teenager – the owner of this apartment – asked.

"I apologise for disturbing you at such a late time," Starfire began courteously, "but I am told that a boy about my age entered this building a short time ago. He has hair a similar colour to mine, and wears... unusual clothing for this planet. I was wondering if you had seen him."

The Asian girls reply was simple. "I've been sleeping."

"So you have not seen him?" Starfire asked innocently.

"No. If that's all?"

"It is. I apologise." Starfire gave a small, short bow, having the door quietly closed in her face.

The girl on the other side of the door, meanwhile, turned about and heaved out a sigh of relief as she leant against the door.

"What kind of thief needs a Titan knocking at their door?" On the outside Cheshire had been calm; inside she was rattling with irrational fear. The Titans didn't know her face, and how could Starfire even know it was her?

She heard a groan from the adjoining bedroom.

It seemed that the red-haired boy was having a rough night.

* * *

The berserk thing suddenly lifted from his feet to about a foot in the air and flew headlong at Raven, all the while that insane smile and pure white eyes staring at her with unseen eyes.

What was this? Was this an emotion? Was his head like her, and this was the emotion of anger, represented in it's purest form? That seemed to be the most logical explanation right now. She's never actually been into another person's head like this. To her, it was taboo without the persons permission, and she'd never actually had a need to anything like this before, let alone ask. Even on Azarath, such a thing was considered a taboo among others. They were empaths, not psychic.

Raven brought both her hands up in front of her, arms straight, and rose a dome of her black energies around her. The insane Nexus simply crashed straight into it, nearly breaking Raven's fragile concentration and shattering the life-giving dome.

Since she had never been in a persons head like this before, she'd didn't know what would happen if she were to be killed within another persons mind; would her mind return or would her body remain as a soulless lump?

She pushed with her powers sending this Nexus spinning backwards until he stopped himself in mid-air. Her dome shrunk until it shimmered around her two hands, making the outline of her hands appear white. He in turn created two orbs of energy, cupped by his hands, still chuckling as he eyed the intruder of the mind...

And then, just as suddenly as the attack had begun, the attack ended.

This was due to the fact that one Nexus had just ousted another.

A second of the boys had come from nowhere, from the insane Nexus' left side, and landed one solid flying kick into the side of his head, flying straight and true like an arrow. The insane Nexus was sent flying away and falling into the endless, brightly coloured abyss beneath the rocky path.

Raven allowed her powers to retreat and stood upright, eyeing up this second Nexus cautiously. Again, it was all the same clothing; and again, the difference was the hair. This one's hair was a slightly dulled white – whiter than his clothing – and stood in spikes that were more horizontal than anything else. His eyes were the same, brown colour this time; she could see that.

Another emotion, maybe?

But that suddenly didn't seem to make sense. She could feel that this Nexus wasn't insane with rage... but...how to place it...? He was darker.

Well, her emotions – if you wanted to be as cynical as that – could be placed fairly evenly into categories of dark and light. But she had seen no other Nexus' besides this one and previous one; with the fight just now they all should've come running to see what was happening, especially if their were foreign energies being used.

They hadn't.

This one had, but where were the rest?

The second Nexus presented her with a grinning smile as he walked up to her, finally coming to stand face to face with the ashen-skinned mage. His smile was... devious. She kept her firm demeanour, calm and in control, she would not allow herself to be suckered into mind games or lose her control. Here, if that were to happen, it would quite literally wreck his mind. And part of her liked the thought for a moment, the part of her that despised this boy that seemed to want to constantly annoy her with his un-witty sarcasm.

"Welcome to my head." The white-haired Nexus said in a charming tone, his grin still present. "Insane psychos in the basement, me on the first floor, and the second floor? Nothing of interest."

Well, at least this one talked the same, if in what some would call a 'posh' voice. "Charming." Raven's disparaging retort lingered in the air.

The second Nexus' grin darkened suddenly as he turned his head down slightly. "Now..." A right hand suddenly went around her throat, and she felt her bones bend and creak as she was shoved into a rocky outcrop, a small crater around her whole body from the massive impact. The white-haired Nexus' face was suddenly incredibly close to hers, separated by barely a millimetre at the lips. He whispered to her. "Let's talk about why you are here."

Only the use of her powers had saved her from serious harm. Her eyes glowed white as she used them again, wrapping them around the body of the boy. Slowly, his grip loosened as she forced his hand off her throat, and she forced him slowly backwards, hovering him in the air. She herself floated out from the rocky outcrop, she floated above him, her cloak gracefully falling around her.

She released her powers, all the while he was still grinning that smiling grin. He dropped perfectly, landing on his feet like it was second nature.

"That wasn't very nice." He suddenly disappeared in a burst of blinding speed, and reappeared behind her. "I'm going to have to hurt you for that." Raven made no move. She wouldn't give him the pleasure. One thing was clear; yet again, this was not Nexus. Not the annoying one she knew. "Hurt you... in a nice way." She heard him chuckle, could feel his breath impacting the skin on the back of her neck. Could he see the hairs there standing to attention? "He's wanted to do that since the day he met you, you know?"

Raven spun around and glared, but did nothing else, even as he continued talking.

Who was he? This one was just...

"I know everything about him." He sneered, turning his nose up at her, treating her like a lower life form. "That other one you met before is just a dumb animal. I however, am smart; smarter than him. Smarter than both of them." He closed his eyes and brought his nose down once more, unconcerned about what Raven could potentially do to him, the yellow-red sky above them a sickly backdrop to their little confrontation. "If he'd let me, I'd solve all his problems, one by one. And I'd enjoy it." He opened his eyes again, they clearly twinkled with pleasure and malice as they bored through her skin. "I'd enjoy showing him how easy it would be to solve all his problems."

Raven's eyes suddenly burst open as she saw a horrible, disgusting image in her head.

A small boy, red hair, wearing the same clothes as the white-haired teen before her, but obviously smaller; only those clothes were almost totally stained red as the boy looked at the ground. A woman was holding the boy, her arms around him like protective wrappings; and for some reason, she knew it to be his mother. She could only a brown robe around her, clearly cut and torn very recently. Around them were the bodies of three men, their insides spewed around the entire room, one with their mouth open so wide that his jaw was clearly detached from it's joints. It made her want to puke.

"I'd enjoy getting revenge on anyone and everyone."

A second and third image, from only a minute before the first one. The second, of the four year boy, clearly resembling the berserk Nexus from only a short time ago. He ploughed through the stomach of two men, his face and distinguishing unseen in the darkness of a room at night. The third image was of the white-haired, darker Nexus before her at the age of four, grinning sadistically at he slowly plunged his thumbs into the eye sockets of a third man, bursting them like paint balls, before grabbing his lower jaw, pulling that down so far is became detached from the joints, before finally pushing that bloody right hand into his stomach, and firing an exploding ball of pure light blue energy, delighting in the painful, horrific death the man was experiencing, licking his lips in sheer pleasure.

"But he won't let me." The white haired Nexus continued; and Raven noticed now that his voice was slightly deeper than the Nexus she knew. "At least, not until you came along. You see-"

This white-haired Nexus was cut off himself, and Raven felt a huge gust of wind come from her left, as if a cannonball had just hissed past her. She clenched her fists. She was afraid. Afraid... impossible! How could she be afraid? This was just a mind-scape, she couldn't die here. Could she? No, it was not him he was afraid off, it was what she had seen. Only once before had she seen something so horrifying, and that was when Trigon had come along; but even then there where no corpses, just statues. But those... had been turned into lumps of flesh, and she didn't know the reason. And it was done by Nexus... when he was a _child_.

She clenched her eyes turned to her left, outstretched her arms and readied herself, only to see a third Nexus jamming his right knee into the gut of the white-haired version. The second Nexus then received a quick right fist into the chin, sending him skyward. A final blast of one energy ball from the third Nexus' hand impacted the white-haired Nexus, and he vanished in an explosion of ash

Raven lowered her arms back to her sides and hovered back down to Earth, inwardly thankful to be back on solid ground, if it could even be called that. The third Nexus – what she could tell was the one on the outside as well – landed just in front of her with his back turned. Even though his clothing, she could she his that his back muscles were as tense as tightly stretched piano wire, and she could easily see his fists shaking. A quick, cleansing breath allowed her to fully regain her composure.

"Nexus." She heard an unearthly growl from him. "I-"

His voice started off as barely a whisper... "Do you have any idea what _YOU'VE DONE?!?!?!?_" ... And ended in a roar as he spun to face her, his form towering over hers, despite them being at the same height; and his brown eyes full of anger. "Do you?!?!"

Raven just gave him a cold stare, apparently not knowing or caring. Nexus' brown eyes seemed shrunken at how wide his eyes were. He spun back around and walked a few steps away, an unearthly growl emanating from deep within his stomach that seemed to make everything around him vibrate.

"You've just managed to break _every single_ lock I placed on those two." His voice was deathly cold. "And you _violated_ my mind! Why?"

"Orders."

"Orders?" Nexus replied incredulously, his voice's volume now at a more normal level. "Orders? Are you so used to listening to what other people tell you that you blindly follow them?"

"Trust me," Raven began in a cold tone, trying to assert her control over the situation, "the idea of coming into your mind disgusted me just as much as it does you. But I agreed with Robin on this point; we had to know if we could trust you."

"So you didn't trust what Starfire said?"

Raven stopped dead cold. Did she? Had she ever? From the very moment she had seen him, she had been mistrusting, it was just how she had learned to cope. She forced anyone away with coldness and mistrust, and she doubted that she could ever rid herself totally of this nature due to the simple fact that her powers still required her to meditate and that she had taught herself to do this since being a child.

Nexus continued, picking up a new topic. "So you saw?"

"I saw it, yes." Raven looked down to the ground to her right, the brown rocks not helping the growing grinding feeling in her stomach. "How... I mean... You were..."

"Four years old, to be precise." He turned around and stared seriously at Raven. "Those other two you saw were other me's. They were created when I killed those men."

"Why?"

"Mother's can bring out the worst in you."

She was quite amazed. This kind of situation, and he could still joke sarcastically so sonn after exploding at her. And she agreed with him. Her relationship with her mother had been strained, but due to the fact she'd detected the sarcasm from him, she guessed it meant something different.

"Might as well tell you." Nexus sighed. "On my world, it's... xenophobic, in a sense. Any outside blood is thought of as a poison, and anyone carrying it is considered worse than an animal, and are treated accordingly." Nexus's brown eyes continued to stare at her as her wide orbs could only look back, her conciousness seeming distant as she took it in. "And those who 'copulate' with aliens are thought of as traitors to the species. She was going to be raped. I defended her."

Raven was silent.

At four years old, he had... mutilated three men. He'd explained the reasons, but... _God, no wonder he's so distrustful of others. And Starfire was protecting him._

She had committed the worst possible crime, violating another person's mind, and she may very well have made things so much worse for everyone.

Nexus turned around again, and began walking away along the rocky, barren path before him. "I was told there was an underground base where this whole situation is originating from. Tell Robin to check it out, I'm sure you'll find something. Now..." He stopped and looked at her from over his right shoulder, his brown eye looking to be almost a malevolent red due to the distance between them. "Get out of my head!"

She jerked.

She looked around.

The foul grime on the curved walls around her, the stink of days collected waste. She was back in the sewer, the real world hovering above the dark water below her in a cross-legged position. She realised that she felt damp all over. How long had she spent in there? Time between this world and the time spent in the mind could sometimes become distorted.

"Raven." She recognised the voice, that of their leader. Robin. "Anything?"

She jerked forward, quickly smacking her right hand over her mouth. _More than you'd care to know about._

* * *

He sat up, sweat caking his entire body like a layer of fat on a cooking piece of meat. He felt disgusting, dirty. And not just because of the sweat.

"You're up." He looked up to see Cheshire standing in the doorway, the light from the other room making her seem like a shadow.

He groaned miserably, placing his head in his hands and using his fingers to rub his temple.

He could hear them. One laughing. The other trying to plant subtle and very alluring suggestions into his head.

The Asian thief lifted an eyebrow at his behaviour, but understood it. "Not surprised. You were certainly getting enough exercise while you were asleep." She laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood as she flicked on a light switch, bathing the room in light from the ceiling. "Drink?"

Nexus squinted his eyes as they adjust to the sudden increase in light. "Please." He croaked, his throat feeling incredibly rough and dry.

Cheshire turned about and walked into the adjoining room, leaving him in the room and the blackness behind his eyelids.

They wouldn't shut up. They wouldn't be quiet. They spoke together in a strange melody and melding of words, but he could hear both distinctly.

"_Kill!! Kill them all!!!"_

"_I just want to help you. I'm your friend. I could solve all of your problems in a flash. I can make you happy."_

"Be quiet."

"_Kill them now!! I know you enjoy it. Seeing their blood... It feels warm, doesn't it?"_

"_I can satisfy your urges. The urge for vengeance. The urge to... subdue any who would stand against you, like Raven. And the urge to... 'reward' those who help you. Like Starfire, for example."_

"I said-"

"_Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help"  
"Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help"  
"Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help""Kill""Help"  
"Kill""Help"_

"SHUT UP!!!!!"

And as he roared at the ceiling where they weren't, they were silent.

Nexus' breathing went heavy, and his ears went hard. He could hear nothing but a strange ringing.

Then he saw the familiar blackness that told you it was time to sleep.

And sleep he did.

* * *

_Author Notes: I think these chapters keep getting shorter. shrugs Well, as long as you enjoy reading it, I'm sure it doens't matter. I certainly enjoyed writing this chapter, despite how long it took. I've always thought that sometimes a slightly shorter chapter can help break things up. They'll get longer in the future, I'm sure. _

_Well, till next time._


End file.
